\u201cIt all starts with the basics,\u201d Virgil van Dijk wrote in his programme notes ahead of Liverpool\u2019s clash with PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday, listing six non-negotiables required for his side to emerge from the pit of despair they find themselves in after six Premier League defeats in seven games.<\/p>\n
But the Reds captain flouted the most basic of basics in hilarious and pathetic fashion as he appears to be doing his level best to see the back of Arne Slot from Anfield.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Liverpool crisis induces pure lunacy as \u2018massive admiration\u2019 for Slot replacement revealed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The speed with which Liverpool have turned from a measured, expertly run football club to the foremost Premier League basket case has been a wonder to behold. And with Arne Slot under significant pressure in an ever-deepening crisis at Anfield, Van Dijk issued a call to arms in his programme notes.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone has to step up and take responsibility, and show that they have the desire and the character to turn things around,\u201d Van Dijk wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, we are letting ourselves down, letting the manager down and letting you guys down, and we know that has to change.<\/p>\n \u201cLike I say, it is on us to make that change, nobody else. We can talk about what\u2019s going wrong and what we need to do, but it\u2019s about actions, not words.<\/p>\n \u201cEach and every one of us has to first look in the mirror and then, as a team, we have to come together to show that we are better than this, stronger than this.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all starts with the basics; hard work, a willingness to fight for every first ball, every second ball, to compete in every duel, to block shots and win challenges. We have to do all of those things as a team. It is the only way.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE ON LIVERPOOL FROM F365: But just six minutes into the game, Van Dijk paid tribute to Michael Jordan through imitating the basketball icon\u2019s brand logo in his own box in \u2013 now, this is key \u2013 a game of football.<\/p>\n Complaining about the slightest of nudges in the box, he waved his arm mid-jump and absurdly palmed the ball, leaving the referee with no option but to point to the spot. Ivan Perisic converted the spot-kick to give PSV the early lead at Anfield.<\/p>\n It means Van Dijk has given away three penalties in all competitions this season, which is more than any other Premier League player. And amid all the criticism of the new signings, centre-back partner Ibrahima Konate and Slot himself, there\u2019s arguably no Liverpool player doing more to bring about the Reds manager\u2019s sacking than their legendary leader.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all starts with the basics\u201d, Virg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt all starts with the basics,\u201d Virgil van Dijk wrote in his programme notes ahead of Liverpool\u2019s clash…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,14147,163,4884,179,12,16,15,1465],"class_list":{"0":"post-595773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-f365-says","11":"tag-front-page","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-liverpool","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-virgil-van-dijk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Liverpool: Romano reveals Reds U-turn on January transfers as FSG \u2018want to finalise\u2019 \u00a370m signing<\/a>
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Liverpool submit new \u2018bid\u2019 to sign Marc Guehi in January as Crystal Palace set key condition for transfer<\/a>
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Liverpool: Manager \u2018ready to step in\u2019 to replace Arne Slot as change hinges on two conditions<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n