Arne Slot needs to try something different to help a Liverpool side clearly missing Trent Alexander-Arnold. But grief apparently cannot be used as an excuse.<\/p>\n
Send your thoughts on Arsenal, Chelsea, grief and whatever else to theeditor@football365.com.<\/p>\n
A memo to Arsenal fans<\/strong><\/p>\n Quick note to my fellow Gooners from the morning\u2019s Mailbox<\/strong><\/a>: we\u2019ve just had perhaps the most satisfying Sunday to Wednesday in our recent history and are certainly watching the best version of Arsenal in 20 years. As part of the enjoyment, you absolutely do not need to write in wondering what some anonymous Internet freak makes of it all.<\/p>\n Hell of a fun week, my liver is screaming at me. Let\u2019s hope we can finish it as well as we started it. \u00a0<\/p>\n Tasty<\/strong><\/p>\n Some superb saltiness from Kimmich and the gang after that game; \u201cOh it\u2019s not real football, Arsenal aren\u2019t the toughest football team, they don\u2019t play it properly\u201d etc etc.<\/p>\n Mate, Bayern had nothing. For all that possession, they looked a threat precisely one time and played a litany of loose balls.<\/p>\n Second half, they couldn\u2019t even do that. We chased them silly, created all the chances and frequently cut through them with ease<\/strong><\/a>. Then their headlossess did the work for us.<\/p>\n Poor Neuer, bless him, 39 years old and never been brushed during a set piece before, poor little duckie didn\u2019t stand a chance against nasty, towering Timber.<\/p>\n See you in the knockouts, lads. \u00a0<\/p>\n I was happy hating him<\/strong><\/p>\n Ashley Cole, take a bow. Thoughtful. Intelligent. Insightful.<\/p>\n I am shamed and I didn\u2019t know he went through his career like that. And he\u2019s still here I got one millionth I d have quit and had a tantrum<\/p>\n It\u2019s compulsory viewing stick to football the man is impressive and I never knew<\/p>\n Watch Roy \u00a0Keane shut up and admire someone for an hour and a half<\/p>\n And I might be old school but if I see Roy Keane actively admiring someone, I do. \u00a0<\/p>\n Do *something*, Arne<\/strong><\/p>\n Being schooled by a Dutch team is frankly just embarrassing<\/strong><\/a>. Slot is so predictable.<\/p>\n The difference between him and Herr Klopp is that Klopp at least came up with solutions; his plan was to have Trent move to DM when we were in possession. Slot is just doing the same thing over and over and hoping it works out. 9 losses in 12 games \u2013 newsflash \u2013 it ain\u2019t working.<\/p>\n At this point try anything. Teams are just stacking their box when we attack and then leaving two outlets, so we keep getting countered after our shitty crosses have been cleared.<\/p>\n Switch to 3 at the back. Switch to a 4-4-2. Switch to a 5-0-5 if the plan is to only play long balls.<\/p>\n Please start Chiesa. Please drop VVD. I\u2019ve heard Endo and Gomez don\u2019t even wear their matchday kit when on the bench because what\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n Just do something. We were destroyed by a f**king Dutch team.<\/p>\n I get the grieving excuse. But the way it\u2019s going now, we\u2019re gonna get relegated. And then what? \u201cOh, it\u2019s okay, we were grieving.\u201d<\/p>\n This is why we LFC supporters should always appreciate when it\u2019s going well. But no, we got cocky. Told everyone how great we were going to be.<\/p>\n Now we are the laughing stock again. Reeks of \u201cthis year is our year\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n Appalled by our current state. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u200bThe big problem<\/strong><\/p>\n Are Liverpool missing Trent? I would assume none of the fans would admit it, but watching him for England and Madrid (a bit) he\u2019s never looked like a natural right back, centre mid, or wing back. Just a whole heap of brilliant footballing skills in the wrong shape to fit into the perfect symmetrical jigsaw that we think formations have to be in England.<\/p>\n But Klopp was never fussed about that. Sarah scores the goals \u2013 so just stay up front. Trent makes the attack work \u2013 get into midfield and down the line as much as possible. Gap at right back? One of the centre mids plus the right centre back keeps their eyes on it. Etc etc. Use the difficulty, as Michael Caine says, make a positive of players\u2019 idiosyncrancies, don\u2019t squash them.<\/p>\n But now Trent has gone, there is a Trent shaped piece missing from Klopp\u2019s team \u2013 Bradley, Frimpong, Gomez and Szob don\u2019t fit, and the players connected to it are not doing the same job now \u2013 Konate, Sarah and Mac Allister are all playing badly.<\/p>\n Just a thought? \u00a0<\/p>\n What you sow I don\u2019t claim to have a crystal ball but I found myself a bit skeptical when Liverpool renewed the contracts of a couple of 30+ year olds, at exorbitant fees.<\/p>\n Extending players contracts for exorbitant sums at that stage in their careers rarely seems to work. Players can now put their feet up and I\u2019m sure it creates some disharmony in the squad. Is it coincidence that the two players who have dropped off the most for Liverpool this season just signed new contracts?<\/p>\n What if Liverpool didn\u2019t renew these contracts at such inflated fees? Where are they going to go? Not to another EPL team. Is Salah going to leave for Saudia Arabia in a World Cup year?<\/p>\n My own team is bleeding cash with the Rashford, Sancho, Casemiro, etc. contracts and they can just phone it in week upon week.\u00a0 Call Fernandes bluff. You are 30+. You seriously thonk you can maintain the level you need for the World Cup in the Saudi league?<\/p>\n Teams with no huge contract disparities and few superstars, show fight, spirit and all play for each other (i.e. Bournmouth, Sunderland, etc). They may not win the league, or even trophies, but then, neither will we.<\/p>\n Time will tell if MUFC, and other teams, will have learnt this lesson. \u00a0<\/p>\n A salute to all \u2018small club\u2019 supporters<\/strong><\/p>\n As a Liverpool fan spoiled with trophies winning and have expectations to win one or two trophies every seasons. I used to think that what is the enjoyment in watching football for small clubs fans with zero expectation of winning any trophy in a season. Now when Liverpool has forgot how to play football again, I realized that our next match has become a very important one. Maybe Liverpool will win the next match and that is what holding me through this horror season.<\/p>\n It will make me respect small clubs fans more when they celebrate their big wins like winning a trophy because Liverpool next win will be celebrated for me like it is more than one match. \u00a0<\/p>\n Only my way of grieving is right, actually<\/strong><\/p>\n For the last time lads, what happened to Jota was a tragedy. It\u2019s very sad. Continually suggesting that this is the reason for Pool demise is an utter nonsense though and need to stop.<\/p>\n I get that you\u2019ll use it to hide your many current footballing issues but it\u2019s getting a bit pathetic now.<\/p>\n People die. Naturally, unnaturally, too soon, too late sometimes. It\u2019s sad but that is life and if you\u2019ve not worked it out by now then you\u2019ve not been paying attention.<\/p>\n Jota was a squad player. A nearly first teamer and by all accounts a decent chap. It\u2019s not the massive hole in the squad they are telling us it is.<\/p>\n Are the players sad, shocked and upset? Yes. Probably for a week or so but the pain does get easier.<\/p>\n When my old man died suddenly a few years ago I couldn\u2019t wait to get back to work to distract myself from thinking about it.<\/p>\n When my business partner died before his 30th\u00a0birthday in a car crash we didn\u2019t sit by and watch our company burn to the ground.<\/p>\n We cried, said goodbye and got on with life.<\/p>\n You get over it because life goes on. I still miss them both. But I don\u2019t mess up work because of it. \u00a0<\/p>\n Liverpool and the grief angle<\/strong><\/p>\n As things have turned sour since October, the number of Liverpool fans bringing up Diogo Jota\u2019s death seems to have correlated inversely with their PPG ratio. Now I understand the nature of grief, and the variety of impacts in both the short and long term. For the likes of Andy Robertson, who by all accounts was close to him<\/strong><\/a>, I have nothing but sympathy.<\/p>\n However, it does occur to me that Liverpool as a club are no stranger to tragedy \u2013 Heysel and Hillsborough were of a horrific scale, and the club bears the scars to this day. You could argue that both of those incidents should have had a more profound impact on the players at the time, as the loss of life and the weight of ongoing public scrutiny must have been exhausting.<\/p>\n Kenny Dalglish has spoken at length about how he was affected by witnessing both of those events. He says he isn\u2019t the same to this day. And you can understand it \u2013 I can\u2019t imagine being caught up in a maelstrom of death and controversy which drags on interminably.<\/p>\n BUT, Liverpool went on to win the league in each of the seasons following those disasters. If you look at the 6 year period from 1985-86 to 1990-91 that straddles both stadium\u00a0incidents, their finishing positions read 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd. As a club, they kept their standards ridiculously high on the pitch while navigating a horrible experience for all involved.<\/p>\n There are all sorts of arguments you could posit for those impacts being different to the Jota death \u2013 closer to the players as an individual, players having different temperaments today vs. the 80\u2019s etc. But the \u201cfree pass for this season\u201d argument has started to gain some weight as Liverpool\u2019s form goes into freefall, and that seems like taking things a touch too far.<\/p>\n Even if we ignore the fact that these guys are by their nature single-minded, highly paid professionals, there are at least 6 players in that squad who never kicked a ball with Jota on their side. If we stretch the logic to say that they\u2019ve walked into an environment where they\u2019re surrounded by ever-present grief, it still doesn\u2019t excuse their form as they should have personal\u00a0motivation to excel. Ekitike seems blissfully unaffected while the others struggle miserably \u2013 are we supposed to believe he\u2019s completely lacking in empathy while Wirtz, Mamardashvili et al are drowning in it?<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t it possible that the other factors being mooted for their drop off are the more pertinent drivers? Slot looks lost in the face of his first real spell of pressure at a club this big. Van Dijk and Salah are in natural decline and their form is unsettling the lesser players. Their gigantic summer splurge<\/strong><\/a> has yielded very\u00a0little. Tactical and individual errors are flooding in as the scrutiny grows each week.<\/p>\n The on-pitch mess bears a huge resemblance to every implosion I\u2019ve watched at big clubs over the past few years (Chelsea, United and Spurs are all good examples). When things start to sour at clubs that size, the slide gains its own momentum and it takes an almighty effort to turn things around. As hard-nosed as it may seem, the \u201cfree pass for this season\u201d talk might be giving some of those players an out that\u2019s prolonging the malaise and becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. \u00a0<\/p>\n Whilst there is clearly no denying that the passing of Diogo Jota was a tragedy, for those justifying Liverpool\u2019s current form on the players grieving him, are they\u00a0aware that he died in July? Before the season started.<\/p>\n Whilst Liverpool were on a great run at the start of the season, it was all \u2018the boys are doing it for Diogo\u2019. Fair enough. A quick Google tells me that Liverpool won their first 7 games in all competitions.<\/p>\n Now Liverpool are playing like a pile of dog shite, it has become \u2018oh, they are grieving Diogo\u2019. They beat Real Madrid in this period! Did they forget Diogo that day?<\/p>\n Which is it?<\/p>\n Yes, it was very, very sad and my heart goes out to the Jotas. But, are you really telling me all these grown men are only now starting to realise their mate (who is still essentially a work colleague) is dead?<\/p>\n Maybe I\u2019m heartless (OK, I am a bit\u2026) but when my mother passed away sooner than expected, I was a bit sad for a short time and then got on with my life. You know, work and stuff. Did I start doing shit work? No. I am an adult.<\/p>\n Maybe Liverpool\u2019s current situation is that they are simply playing badly and they are not as good a team as everyone made them out to be? Perhaps Arnie Slot isn\u2019t as good a manager as he was made out to be? These things happen.<\/p>\n Form, as they say, is temporary. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Tim<\/strong><\/p>\n
Tom, Leyton<\/strong><\/p>\n
Ivor<\/strong><\/p>\n
Wik, Pretoria (Kerkez is at least trying), LFC<\/strong><\/p>\n
Neil Raines<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n
Adidasmufc\u00a0 (I\u2019d rather see us 10th playing young hungry players than these slow, old, fat, lazy, overpaid, spineless\u2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n
Mudashiru LFC Ibadan (No midweek match for Man Utd, pass me the seat for the chairman of all crisis clubs)<\/strong><\/p>\n
Dan<\/strong><\/p>\n
Keith Reilly<\/strong><\/p>\n
Stu \u2013 Unblinkered (and possibly emotionless) Gooner in France<\/strong><\/p>\n