1.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 13:32:30
Great review of the season Putney. I think next year will be an improvement on this season (League wise) Last year we did well, this year we did better overall, like you say though, it's the draws. We need to turn the draws into wins, if we had of, this season we'd of been right up there.

With a few reinforcements in summer with the team we already have, we'll be laughing next season. We lack quality on the bench, we lack top quality who can cover injuries/ bans etc. This I think will be addressed in the summer. We have Keita incoming who will be an absolutely huge boost to the team, he's top notch. It'll be interesting to see who else we bring in, we're in need of a few quality additions.

Overall I think we're heading in the right direction and overall I'm delighted with how re doing but I know we can do even better, we just need more cover when our top players are out, if we sort that, we'll be the ones in the driving seat.

2.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 13:44:25
Great review putney.
However i do think we should wait til the end of the season. How the players perform in the crucial remaining games is key and a big part of the mentality of the players. The last part of the season is always the most crucial and its about which teams have the experience and mentality and ability to perform which affects the trophies.
We have been caught out before playing well and then fading at the end and i do think its something the team need to learn to do.
Just my opinion.

3.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 13:47:12
Thanks for the article Putney Red. I agree with all of it except that the last few games do matter to how well we have done. These games are still part of the season, we have put ourselves in a position to have a great season we just need to keep our heads and give it 100%. If we finish 4th and make the final it will still have been a better season that anyone predicted at the start. We will make top 4.

In the league we have lots of work to do. The squad is a long way off a title challenge IMO.

4.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 13:58:21
Great review we did start the season with out vvd and had mingnolet in goal so we have improved since then and as you said the bench has no real impact players which will hinder using subs to impact the game maybe we should sign some experianced older player who has quality but not the engine to last a full game to cover the front three for 20 mins.

5.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 14:07:40
Great review Putney
I don’t know who worked in the stats industry he posted a few week back. But I would love to know the stats on subs coming on and improving the out come of the game in any way.

6.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 14:16:27
Well written review mate and I agree with you in principle that we need to see bigger forward strides in the league next year.

However, I completely disagree on judging our season before it is over. If we win the Champions League and finish top 4, it goes without saying that it is our best season since at least 2001, and in my opiniin 1990. As the 2005 win we finished 5th. You could argue a 3 minor cup treble is still impressive though in 2001. For Me, it is the best season since we last won the league though, if we win the CL.

If we don't win it, then it is just another top 4 finish to go with the one last season, the one under Rodgers and the 4 under Rafa.

So for Me, our season is defined by the last few games. That is why they call it the business end. You work all year to put yourself in with a chsnce of success, but nobody remembers the team who came second. We either win the CL and make history, or we faulted and it is bog standard season. The reality is, our remaining 4 games make or break the season.

I do respect your ability to detach emotion and assess the season from a higher perspective thougj. It has long been why you are one of my favourite posters. It is a very rare trait and you're the only poster on here who displays it consistently.

If we finish top 4 again though, for me that is an improvement in the league. My reasoning is that last season we finished on 76 points despite our whole focus being on the League. This season, it is fair to say we have dropped points we otherwise wouldn't have necessarily dropped because we've rested players for the Champions League.

The last time we were in the Champions league, we went out at the group stage and finished mid table. It is very hard to balance. How hard? Look at Conte at Chelsea. Won the league when he had no need to rotate and balance priorities. He has floundered horribly this year though and their form has only really picked up since Barcelona knocked them out. So Klopp has done a great job to take on the CL games and not let it affect our league position.

Lastly I refute that lack of goals against packed defences is the main problem linked to the draws.

We've only failed to score on 8 occasions this season. Porto when it was a dead rubber and we played fires 0-0. Leicester in the Cup when we played the reserves and lost 2-0. Stoke the other day where we clearly weren't interested in a league game and drew 0-0. City when we were thumped 5-0 with 10 men. And then there are 4 examples where we failed to break down a deep defence in a game we tried to win; United 0-0, Baggies 0-0, Everton 0-0 and Swansea 1-0 loss.

8 out of 52 games is not really an issue for me. Especially considering we only lost 3 of those games and there is a reason behind half of them that should be considered.

For Me, the issue is still conceding too many goals. And the new issue is Klopp needs to get the players to not let a big European game distract them from an important league game. Of our 16 draws, only 5 have been 0-0. So we can't ignore the 11 draws were we threw away a win by conceding. That is a bigger issue in my view! 3-3 with Watford, 3-3 with Arsenal, 3-3 with Sevilla, 2-2 with Sevilla, 1-1 with Spartak, 2-2, 2-2 with Spurs, with West Brom, 1-1 with Chelsea, 1-1 with Everton, 1-1 with Burnley just off the top of my head are all games we were comfortable in and then threw away a cheap goal or three!

That is the problem for me. Even in some Victories we have done the same and conceded after getting sloppy. 2 late goals conceded in a 4-3 win against City, 5-2 against Roma etc.

The I would love to know how many goals we have conceded in the last 30 minutes compared to the first 60. I don't know why the players stop playing. It is embarrassing at times.

7.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 14:27:07
Lovely read Putney, only thing i disagree with is your downplaying of how the cup has affected the league performance. Of course nothing in life is guaranteed, but we dropped 6 points in the second half of the season resting people for the CL - points that would have left us a point ahead of United in second (having played one more) and sitting entirely comfortable in the CL spots. Our thin squad is a great point but it does explain one of the more (rightfully) negative aspects a bit more than I think you credited.

Thanks for entertaining during my lunch break!

8.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 14:32:49
I looked it up and Liverpool have conceded 11 goals out of 37 (league games only) after the 77th minute. So 30% of our goals conceded have come in the last 14% of the match. That is really poor!

My suspicions are backed up by the track record it seems. Late goals conceded have cost us so many points this season. Focus is so critical.

This doesn't even include the Arsenal game where we threw away 3 goals between 50-60 minutes having been 2-0 up. The discipline has to improve. Is it Klopp putting on a centre back for a striker like clockwork? Or is it the players dropping off the press? Whatever it is, we invite pressure late on and it costs us more results than any other concern we have!

9.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 15:35:13
Interesting that MK. Defending midfielder needed as a sub then.

10.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 15:44:37
Hi all, thanks for your feedback, I get the confusion of me judging the season before it's over, I just don't think whether our season was good or bad should be based on one game.

Longthing, I actually did a post on substitutes a few weeks ago, I won't go into the detail but in summary Klopp is the only manager of the big six clubs who, more often than not, makes things worse with his substitutes.

MK, it's a valid point that we've achieved the same as last season with a much busier schedule, that does suggest an improvement but that's the test. Can we play 60 games a year and still be competitive? We've got a ways to go yet to compete with City.

11.) 30 Apr 2018
30 Apr 2018 16:08:36
Definitely Putney. Plenty of room for improvement. Though as you say, Van Dijk seems to have improved the defensive record overall. Most of our major capitulation also occurred with Mignolet or Moreno involved too.

12.) 02 May 2018
01 May 2018 23:43:34
Watford away, offside goal in the last minute. Everton at home dodgy pen given in the last few minutes. Spurs at home VERY dodgy pen given in the last minute. Stoke at home BLATANT pen denied in the last 5 minutes.
There’s 4 draws that should’ve been wins and we are 8 points better off and 2nd. That’s how much refs have cost us this season.
I can’t think of one game we’ve won thanks to a poor decision going our way. Stoke away perhaps when Migs should’ve been sent off? But we might have won that game anyway as it was in the first half at 0-0.
It’s not as bad as the stats suggest we’ve been absolutely mugged by the officials this season.