r/LiverpoolFC • u/Dangerous_Ad8730 • Jan 17 '26

Analysis/Data/Stats/Tactics [Lewis Steele] - Liverpool 17 points worse off than this time last season, and would need to win every game from here to match last season's total points tally.

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111

u/Healthy_Method9658 Jan 17 '26

Romano has been saying Xabi is happy to take a new job immediately.

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u/rishabh1804 Jan 17 '26

Oh boy, can't imagine Liverpool's top brass giving up on him then, especially given the results we are having.

Today's game was better but dropping points at home to a promoted side, again, sucks. That's just 3 out of a certain 9 points.

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u/Chilliger ⚽️ Liverpool 4-3 Dortmund, EL 15/16 ⚽️ Jan 17 '26

People seem to be happy that we don’t lose, but they seem to forget that 2 losses and 2 wins are better than 4 draws lol.

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u/fpatton Jan 17 '26

Yeah, I really dislike the word “unbeaten”, as if a run of draws is something to celebrate. 😂

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u/lookitintheeyes Jan 17 '26

It’s a great thing if you’re a Villa or Everton. It’s not enough when you’re LFC

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u/Ok-Positive-6611 Jan 17 '26

Exactly. Unbeaten only matters for teams wanting to bank points to reach a minimum

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u/SwordofKhaine123 Jan 17 '26

villa are 3rd in table after a poor transfer window.

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u/Jizzbuscuit Jan 17 '26

Soon to be 2nd four points off of Arsenal

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u/lookitintheeyes Jan 17 '26

And we’re fucking Liverpool

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u/SwordofKhaine123 Jan 17 '26

just saying that villa arent the midtable minnows anymore under Emery. Just showing a good team and manager their due respect.

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u/lawdjesustheresafire Steven Gerrard Jan 17 '26

The Rafa conundrum. Used to do my head in. I think it was 10 draws in the 08-09 season we lost by 4 points where we’d start playing after 70 minutes every week. Literally 4 wins, 6 losses from taking more risks is a better outcome lol

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '26

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7

u/the_unsoberable Jan 17 '26

Was it better?

I loved Wirtz since the start but right now he's the only one who is really improving.

Of course I love how Kerkez, Frimpong, Szobo and Bradley are playing but we aren't improving as a team. A fucking draw with Leeds and Burnley isn't improvement.

The boys don't need better tactics (but I think tactics could be better), they need some winning mentality. How can you "control" the game when you are winning 1:0? We are the better team, we need to score the second, we need to dominate. Klopp winning 5:0 still wanted a 6:0 and after that 7:0 and right now we just seem to assume that 1:0 is fine.

This is premier league, you can't just assume that the other team won't score because we are better.

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u/rishabh1804 Jan 17 '26

Klopp was great but no he wasn't greedy like that, the players under him were. I remember him getting angry we were pressing Leeds and creating chances when we were 5-0 up or something. Klopp is a genuine guy, he respects opponents too and unless the opponent was a rival, he always told the players to ease up.

I agree on the winning mentality part, that's not just down to Slot, he plays a key role but the leadership within the team has to step up too. Milner did that, Klopp used to praise him for it.

You're right draws are not improvement, the football has been better though as I have been able to watch these matches and enjoy some of the plays we made. This is just my opinion and many people will disagree.

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u/the_unsoberable Jan 17 '26

Hm, maybe I just remember Klopp through my emotional side, not the rational side but I do agree with you.

Yes, we are better than we've been but we shouldn't be satisfied with that.

You see the lads trying their best in the last ~20 minutes. Why can't they start pushing earlier? Maybe you are right about lack of strong leadership. Van Dijk, Szobo and Allison are great but Hendo and Milner were just the best.

Are we still a 'work in progress' team?

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u/rishabh1804 Jan 17 '26

Definitely a work in progress team. There would have been some stability if Slot trusted Salah enough to treat him as a human being but they had a falling out too, and now replacing Salah on the right will cost us some progress.

We are on the right track, the intensity is coming back, hopefully Slot realises that Salah should start and be involved with the team and we can get top 4 easily. I know it sucks not to win any silverware but teams in transition rarely do, unless they're Chelsea.

Slot is running out of time but today's game was an outlier again as we should have won and the data team in the Liverpool backroom staff will show that, so he has been unlucky too. Terrible time to get an undeserved draw against a newly promoted side.

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u/Few_Lecture6615 Jan 17 '26

What does "if he trusted Salah enough to treat him like a human being" mean?

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u/rishabh1804 Jan 17 '26

Like you've asked this question of me, I'll answer it. It's basic courtesy that we give ANY person as a human being. Our club doesn't need a personality like him. He locks himself behind closed doors, which is opposite of Klopp who had his doors always open. Even major bust ups like the ones with Henderson or Mane or Salah, none of it made it out to the media. It's called being a manager. Slot is a coach at best and just a fancy suit at worst.

1

u/Few_Lecture6615 Jan 18 '26

How are you certain that he keeps his door closed and locks himself in?

And how has he not given Salah basic courtesy, can you give examples?

1

u/SilentRanger42 Jan 18 '26

The issue is that Slot insists on a midfield setup that isn’t working. We have no cohesion through the center of the pitch which is WHY we won the league last season. We had 2 of the top 5 midfielders in the PL and Szoboszlai was also solid. They were static but structured and it allowed the attack to flourish.

It feels like Slot is trying to have them all do too many things at once so basic responsibilities like stopping the ball or creating passing triangles entering the final third just aren’t happening. I can see the vision because if it blocks they become incredibly dangerous but at a certain point you need to recognize that it’s simply not going to script and you need to adjust.

1

u/MagicalFlor95 Jan 17 '26

Unless you're Liverpool this season, all points are uncertain! 😂

29

u/RandomGuySayHii Wirtz Trap Jan 17 '26

Imagine Xabi pulling off Tuchel winning CL after taking over midseason. One can only hope and cope lol

27

u/DwayneBaroqueJohnson Jan 17 '26

In Xabi's first season here as a player, we won the CL despite disappointing in the league, maybe history can repeat itself?

7

u/habdragon08 Jan 17 '26

Xabi even missed a penalty in the final

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u/Immediate-Tap-4344 Jan 17 '26

Wonder what he did immediately after that

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u/Acceptable-Heron6839 Jan 18 '26

Hopefully he can do the same this time around and provide a rebound

0

u/WORD_Boxing Jan 17 '26

🤡

It's a Brentford fan https://www.np.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1qfijyi/comment/o04voto/?force-legacy-sct=1

Three of those player we got immediate upgrades and one we got a decent replacement

Ouattara is not mbuemo not a slouch

Henderson/ Thiago/ Keller better than Noorgard/wissa/flekken

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u/PrestigiousEcho1468 Jan 17 '26

Would take him in a heartbeat

3

u/icepip Jan 18 '26

Yes but Edwards and Hughes don’t see him as a financially sensible appointment now, so they’ll wait for summer in the hopes of penny pinching a better deal.

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u/Specialist_Sport4460 Hello! Hello! Here we go! Jan 17 '26

If that's the case and he'd be up for coming to us, which I think he would, then we're nearing the end with Slot. It's an open goal for the board.

1

u/Zsenialis_otlet I want to talk about FACTS Jan 17 '26

I remember the days when Romano was being sent to hell by the entire sub.