Appalling match is appalling. Wow.
- I know that with every bad draw Liverpool have had this season, most people have said “Wow, that was bad.” And yet week after week it gets inconceivably worse. I’ve forgotten what LFC were like under Roy Hodgson, and I assume most others have as well, since I try to block those matches from memory, but I assume that yesterday’s performance comes pretty close to the nadir under Hodgson last January. I cannot get over how bad this game was. As much as Bolton deserved to win (and they did!), Liverpool definitely deserved to lose.
- Bolton have (had?) the worst home record in all four divisions. Sometimes I think that LFC is actually an elaborate, feel-good charity that tries to bring joy to the hearts and minds of flailing relegation zone teams to help keep their spirits alive. This team could finish mid-table but their performances can cure cancer. It’s a toss up.
- Bellamy and Carroll looked good, although as per usual Carroll isn’t getting any credit. He kept feeding nice balls in to Bellamy, one of which resulted in Liverpool’s only goal. I have no problems whatsoever with the front two.
- The back eight, though. Ye gods. If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed they were involved in an elaborate betting scheme and were being paid to throw the game. Sketchy defending, a poor midfield, it all added up to a really horrendous performance.
- My experience of fans online seems to be that everyone has a boner for Maxi Rodriguez and they get upset when he’s on the bench or left out of the side all together. Maxi generally has a talent for being in the right place at the right time and capitalizing on chances after someone else (usually Suarez) has done all the work, but left to his own devices yesterday where he was actually required to do something on his own, he turned into a flailing mess. This is why he sits on the bench or doesn’t even get named to the team sheet, people. This performance was probably an exaggerated version of what he might get up to on his own so I suppose it’s unfair to judge him on this alone, but I think his occasionally impressive goal scoring makes people really myopic to the glaring flaws that everyone sees in the rest of the team.
- From the “Things No One Notices But Me” file: does this team wax their entire bodies? Everyone except Stevie G looks so hairless, so either Stevie is so hairy that it actually comes across on TV or the rest of these dudes are disturbingly hairless. I’m quite convinced Jose Enrique is, but there were some vast expanses of Daniel Agger’s thigh exposed that gave me pause for reflection.
- Kenny’s post-match comments could be summed up as “This was appalling, our guys were lazy and disrespectful, and if they think that simply turning up is all they need to do, they do not need to be on this team.” But, you know, way harsher. I would think that Kenny bears some responsibility as the man who sets the team sheet and decides on substitutions, but the players really need to get it together.
In related news, my beloved Bayern Munich lost 3-1 to ‘Gladbach on Friday night. It was also an appalling performance. Schweini scored Bayern’s only goal and was clearly deeply gutted by the final result. In the post match interview with Marco Reus, he literally face palmed:
This is exactly how one should react to such a loss. This is a reaction you can only feel if you showed up and actually put in an effort to try to win, rather than arrogantly assuming you were going to win by virtue of being Bayern. (In Bayern’s defense, ‘Gladbach are not fighting relegation and are quite good this year. Still. They’ve now lost both games against them this season.) Like… have some effing humility, Liverpool. TAKE IT FROM SCHWEINI.Sidenote: Schweini, come to Liverpool! We need your magic at midfield! (He’ll never come.)
- The goal at the start of the season was to finish fourth and grab that last Champions League spot. If they’re not careful, they won’t even manage Europa League for next year.
- We’re going to sign someone soon, right? This transfer window’s stress comes not from much loved players disappearing suddenly to Chelsea but from the sheer terror of there being no legitimate action on the first team front. I’m really thrilled we’re investing in youth players, but youth players are not going to help us in the here and now.