Liverpool are the worst defending champions in Premier League history

Jezpeza

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Its quite straight forward to me. The high intensity football was never going to last forever without serious soft tissue injuries and burnout. Allison has made a few errors. They've had a makeshift defence. Their midfield was never that good, just average players playing well in a unit to a sum greater than their parts. Mane and Salah are very good players but both had a season where they were at insane levels playing out of their skin and looked better than they are. They havent got a goalscoring striker because firmino is a CAM playing upfront. This limits them tactically to playing with a false 9. Oh, and bar Jota, all their signings have been shite. I dont even think that its a case of getting everyone fit and going back to their levels.
 

Josh 76

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Klopp's got to be questioned as to why he felt the answer to their defensive injuries is to make their midfield weaker by playing Henderson as CB?
It's strange how Henderson has become the best midfielder in the world since he has been playing CB.
 

Damien

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I’m sure @Damien could find the match day thread.
@pcaming

You've just got to laugh.
ah the famous 1-7-2 formation
fecking hell... Having 1 defender and 9 midfielders/attackers in the starting XI is every muppet's wet dream on FIFA or FM... In reality it's actually a bit scary. :lol::nervous:
7 midfielders has to be a champions league record right?
Attack! Attack! Attack!
I hope Eikrem comes on at some point, he deserves it for his form for the reserves.
Regardless of the result, I'd like to see Eikrem get a run out, maybe coming on for Scholes in the second half if Scholes starts to flag (not being as young as he once was)
I expect this team to put on some good possession football, make the match boring and stop them testing the back 4.
I know its a CL match and a match to determine whether we are top or second (and most people say you get hard games regardless but id rather United avoid Barca for now) but that team is hilarious.

A squad as big as ours and we get problems in one area.
Fanstistic team, should make for an entertaining game.

Nani - Score 3 goals, one for each of Park's lungs

Park - Carrick - Fletch - Evra
Sky reporter: What's the shape of your side tonight?

Sir Alex: I have no idea!

:lol:
Attack is the best form of defence for us. Dont sit back and give the back 4 and keeper plenty of work to do. Always keep the ball in their half whenever possible.

The injury crisis was known in advance so the team wasn't a massive surprise.
 

Damien

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GoldTrafford99

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I truly don't understand why so many fans and pundits and ex players and commentators are asking the question: "What is going wrong at Liverpool?" when the answer to the question is very obvious. We all know the answer.

There exists a perfect precedence and example for us all, of Borussia Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp who were the hardest working team - and best team - in Germany for two full seasons in a row before BANG! They suddenly weren't the hardest working, nor the best no more. Literally a template example - and precedence of what is happening at Liverpool.

Liverpool covered more ground than any team in England in 2018/19 and 2019/20 (were also the hardest work rate in second half of 2017-18)...

For the 2020/21 season Liverpool have covered the 8th most amount of ground in the Premier League. A huge decline.

Same stats can be found at Borussia Dortmund during the Klopp reign.

You fill your players lungs up with Asthma medicine, then caffeine them up before kick-off and they'll outwork anyone...But that - whilst they found loopholes to ensure is a legal approach - is only a cyclical and short-term approach.. That can't go on forever. As it seems, from two examples now, it lasts for a little above two years...
 
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Classical Mechanic

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On injuries, the season we lost the title on goal difference to City we had a ridiculous amount of injuries whilst City had the lowest number in the league.

Here's the data

https://www.sportingintelligence.co...-2011-12-injury-league-man-utd-bottom-280501/

1. Manchester City with 7 significant injuries with 186 player days lost
20. Manchester United with 39 significant injuries with 1681player days lost

The next season United were 3rd worst in the league for player days lost and City 5th. United beat City to the title by 11 points.
 
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JamesB__

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A truly great PL team wins the title back to back.
They still have been a great PL team. That year they were neck and neck with City was more impressive than a lot of title winning seasons and they won the CL too.

Loving the wheels coming off, just wish Chelsea/ManUtd/Spurs were more competent. Nothing more bland than a Man City title win.
 

charlenefan

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It's strange how Henderson has become the best midfielder in the world since he has been playing CB.
Credit where it's due Liverpool aren't the same side when he's not in midfield
 

Theafonis

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Injuries have played there part but if you notice they can no longer "gengen press" and there's a good reason for this. Asthma Peds. This isn't conspiracy - this is fact. 22 out of 35 of the Liverpool squad have "asthma". That's five times higher than the national average. Asthma medication can be supplied in pill form as well as inhalers. With the pills having a higher potency, such as Albuterol. These drugs smooth the pathways of the lungs allowing for massively increased stamina, oxygen uptake. Anti catabolic properties and increased recovery and increase fat oxidization. (I do competitive bodybuilding and have taken these drugs personally to prepare for shows - So have first-hand experience of their effectiveness)

It's my belief that they are combining these drugs with caffeine pre-game which gives them tremendous energy and stamina (See above). Now the issue with these drugs is that they put strain on the heart. The player's heart rates increase and the introduction of caffeine further enhances this. So, what you need to do to negate some of the long-term damage is to "cycle" off. As with any drug. The issue is that with covid the players haven't been able to have a break long enough to cycle off before the season starts again since we only had something like a 3-week break. Therefore they started the season "off-cycle" in order to give their bodies the needed time to recover and this is still the case.
Very interesting take.
 

amolbhatia50k

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They still have been a great PL team. That year they were neck and neck with City was more impressive than a lot of title winning seasons and they won the CL too.

Loving the wheels coming off, just wish Chelsea/ManUtd/Spurs were more competent. Nothing more bland than a Man City title win.
Doesn't matter. They didn't win it. Puts alongside the likes of Conte's Chelsea not the genuinely great United, Chelsea and urgh City teams of the PL era.

CL is a different competition. They couldn't defend their league title.
 

MrMarcello

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What have we said the past 2-3 seasons? Let's all see how their results go with key injuries that expose their lack of depth, no gifts from the opposition defender/keeper, less diving calls in favor of Mane & Salah, and a barren spell from the forward three.
 

charlenefan

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Almost every game where they haven't had a fit CB yeah and that's been a lot
 

GlasgowCeltic

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Same injuries problems but playing in front of a packed Anfield... How would they have done?
 

el3mel

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United 2013, Chelsea 2015 and Leicester 2016 were far worse in terms of performance and position in the table.
 

VorZakone

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Greatest Premier League side of all time I was told by deluded gobshites in the media and from Liverpool fans
People always say this but who in the media claimed this? Who explicitly said this Liverpool team is the greatest PL team of all time?
 

17Larsson

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I like it when an unexpected team wins the league.

When Leicester won it was enjoyable to follow. Obviously Blackburn and Liverpool weren't enjoyable to watch as one was competing for the title with us and the other was Liverpool, but it's nice for the neutral to see a plucky underdog win against the odds every so often.

Probably hard for players and fans to go back to their usual mid-table form but Liverpool will get used to it as I'm sure Blackburn and Leicester did at the time
 

Ekkie Thump

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I guess Leeds being defending champions the season the Premier League started doesn't count. We were truly shite that year though. Failed to win a single away game, finished 17th and stayed up by 2 points.
 

esmufc07

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How many games did United actually have to play with Carrick and Fletcher at the back out of interest? I genuinely don't remember how long the injuries were.
No idea but I seem to remember a game away to Fulham we lost 3-0? Think we played 3 at the back with Carrick as a defender.
 

Maluco

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It doesn’t make sense to defend it by saying “it’s only because we were playing so well before”

Your drop off is measured from where you were to where you are now and there would have been no league win without that level of points.

It’s a suspicious drop off in any case. That stats tell an interesting story.
 

Seven Seas Sardines

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I truly don't understand why so many fans and pundits and ex players and commentators are asking the question: "What is going wrong at Liverpool?" when the answer to the question is very obvious. We all know the answer.

There exists a perfect precedence and example for us all, of Borussia Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp who were the hardest working team - and best team - in Germany for two full seasons in a row before BANG! They suddenly weren't the hardest working, nor the best no more. Literally a template example - and precedence of what is happening at Liverpool.

Liverpool covered more ground than any team in England in 2018/19 and 2019/20 (were also the hardest work rate in second half of 2017-18)...

For the 2020/21 season Liverpool have covered the 8th most amount of ground in the Premier League. A huge decline.

Same stats can be found at Borussia Dortmund during the Klopp reign.

You fill your players lungs up with Asthma medicine, then caffeine them up before kick-off and they'll outwork anyone...But that - whilst they found loopholes to ensure is a legal approach - is only a cyclical and short-term approach.. That can't go on forever. As it seems, from two examples now, it lasts for a little above two years...
We should use Martial as a Guinea pig since we've tried everything except setting fire to his arse.
 

Acole9

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Fraud champions, most jammiest Premier League title win in history.
 

always_hoping

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The injury thing is not the sole reason for the scale of decline. Granted it has played a huge impact but the results started dipping after the first A Madrid game, continued when they came back from the lockdown (remember they lost 3-0 to Watford, 4-0 to City, and 7-2 to Villa with the "best centre back in premier league history" playing).

Since the A Madrid game their record in all comps is:

26W 12D 14L

It's a problem that was already starting and has got much worse.
Yes I brought up before, they have bigger problems than players missing.
 

Longshanks

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How many games did United actually have to play with Carrick and Fletcher at the back out of interest? I genuinely don't remember how long the injuries were.
I'm pretty sure we had a back four of
Fletcher-Carrick-Evra-buttner for a fair few games seem to remember Bobby zamora terrorising it in a 3-0 defeat to Fulham.

Liverpool have had V.V.D and Gomez out most of the season fair enough but how do you go into a season especially this season with only 3 senior centre backs 2 of which are made of glass anyway? Dreadful management.
 

Hughie77

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I dont buy into the injuries issue, they lost VVD, in the Everton game, he played in the 7-2 against villa, he also had a right stinker in CL when Athletico beat them last season. I agree with another poster, the pressing game they play has caught up with them, I think most teams have had injuries, Klopp does not trust the CB he has in the under 23s other wise he would have played them, also Lovren he let go he didn't replace, then his hand was forced in jan to get CB in.
But he still plays Henderson at CB? There CM has never been top class they had plenty of energy, which this season it hasn't happened. Alcantara was bought because of his quality, but his energy levels are lower than the game they play in pressing, hes usually the last one to chase back or close down in CM, that opens up spaces that were not there in last 2 seasons, imo, also this season there mistakes are punished big time. And I also think When VVD got a long injury they felt a bit sorry for themselves, then another happens then another, and Klopp doesn't very rarely gives the opposition any credit when they lose, it's always what they didn't do etc . I guess they are bad champions. And there fans are hurting big time.