Certainly seems to be an issue but they can’t rebuild the whole squad in 1-2 windows. We’ve done really well to improve the first team and are almost there with that if we get a CM and CF.
Hopefully get those in the summer and a couple of backups like a RB.
Basically we get fired up in the first 10-15 minutes in every game… just afterwards…
Fckn Klopps teeth do my head in 
I’m gonna go back to this “plan B” argument here. Playing out the back is lame. Tiki taka when we’re not good at it is so tragic it’s almost funny. Looking to find the perfect goal while conceding so many chances at the other end is footballing suicide.
I just feel that, as a footballing identity, we don’t have one under Arteta.
I’m trying to be as rationalized as possible here but I’m seething tonight.
Yep completely agree, too many rushed back but what options were there?
Nuno at RB
Patino at CAM/CM
Would’ve been less confident seeing that lineup, probably wouldn’t have turned out any worse but hardly a game changer.
Don’t forget Lokonga, he was trash.
Do the players hold no blame in this tonight for you though? Surely they have to be held accountable to some form of consistency.
I completely agree. But then in hindsight, which is obviously where I’m speaking from, fitness for a few players was an issue and the formation really left us exposed to counters. Sambi given too much to do at the base of the midfield and ESR basically not on the pitch meaning the entire creative burden fell on Odegaard who was having to balance playing deep with a need to push forward and create more.
Think in hindsight we should have gone with a straight 4-2-3-1
Apparently it’s only when we win that the players are involved.
He wasn’t as bad as them. Had some bad moments but had some good moments too. Same with Ramsdale.
And Gabriel
Arteta needs to figure out a way to Burnley, which shouldn’t be hard but could be given the state of the squad. All our attacking players bar Odegaard and Martinelli look shattered physically and we need to find a way to score a couple goals.
Then add a CM and striker, let everybody rest and regroup for two weeks, and get ready for the run in.
I suppose it’s tonight, it’s Anfield last week, and it’s Anfield earlier in the season combined. No matter if Liverpool look toothless or are scoring against us freely, we don’t ever look like scoring.
Continued mistakes against the same clubs makes me think it’s at the manager’s door.
We were blaming Wenger for an insipid display away at Atletico in his last season. I think Arteta should be apportioned the same sort of blame here for what was equally as big a game today.
Yeh I’m not going to talk about hindsight too much because we both know football doesn’t work like that.
It wasn’t a great night for Mikel but I genuinely feel like he was let down by his players. Though you could argue Edu and Arteta created this rod for their own back by not having a midfield.
This Liverpool midfield and Jota were the difference tonight, I don’t see us putting out any team with the pieces we had that would have won the midfield battle. Criminal to not address that in summer or early January.
Players like Laca, Saka, ESR and Sambi showed tonight they could easily be improved upon, as could that defense. Complacent and gutless by the players that had their chance tonight.
I like to think this is a maturity thing. People shouldn’t overlook how young and inexperienced this team is.
Liverpool were far more composed and pulled off a much more professional performance. Still plenty of work to be done by the boys.
Not quite sure a league cup semi equates to a European semi even if it is the Europa lol
I’m not going to lay into this team because i genuinely love these lads and it’s first time in a long time I’ve felt like that.
But in terms of maturity the onus is on Mikel to find out who can handle the pressure and who can’t, what are the type of signings that will fill in the blanks and add some mettle to this talented bunch.
People championed Lacazette as the cohesive leader, tonight showed that to be anything but the case.
Mikels job won’t last if we don’t start winning these types of fixtures every now and then.
I think the biggest criticism I can level at management today is that we are really victims of our own bad planning.
I can’t believe that in September when the window closed that Edu and Arteta believed we could rely upon 2 CMs in January - one of which had never played football in England before.
I think this also shows how desperately we need quality wide players. It’s nice that Martinelli and Saka had good Decembers and a bright early January performance but all in all they’re not at the level that we need to be pushing for trophies.
CM and striker are desperate and urgent positions we need to upgrade upon.
And hopefully Pepe can be reintroduced into the team when he comes back from the AFCON because at the very least he’s different to Saka.
I’m ok with our defence, they showed some youthful errors today and some naivety but I do think the formation left our defence overexposed today. And when your right back is making 5-6 errors in a game to puts extra pressure on the defenders
Too many emotional reviews get written after individual games, there’ll be a load tonight banging on that this is it and Arteta has failed us blah blah. When in reality, nobody gave two shits about this cup at the start of the season.
We’re up and down which comes with having a rookie manager and a very young team, hopefully Mikel learns his lessons and finds us a way to become more consistent. A couple of signings at the START of a transfer window would fucking help.
Glad they called Sunday off, hopefully we don’t double down and drop points this Sunday because of the bloody league cup. Need a big effort against Burnley, put us back in the top 4 chase and then get the lads a bit of a rest.
True lol but honestly mate this felt like a big game. Liverpool fans were up for it. We were nervous as fans. There was the whole COVID-gate build up.
This was our biggest game of the season so far. We flopped hard.