Liverpool Truly Humbled 4-0 by Mainz
This afternoon, Liverpool slumped to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of mid-table Bundesliga side Mainz 05, less that 24 hours after trouncing Barcelona 4-0 at Wembley. Jürgen Klopp must have been – indeed he looked – surprised that his side can display such immediate and dramatic inconsistencies.
I’m not going to bask in the glory of the Barca game or dissect, and wallow in the misery of, the Mainz defeat. I’m simply amazed that the club’s wanton greed and stupidity in arranging a match of such complete insignificance so soon before the start of the season. Why bother?
Klopp told LFC TV that they arrived at two o’clock in the morning and some more players arrived first thing this morning. Not the best preparation, clearly. Common sense tells me that if the players aren’t fit enough by now, one more game isn’t really going to help them. This goes without mentioning the affect on the players’ confidence from such a defeat – and the dreaded ‘I’ word… Yes… Injury. The question remains… Why bother?
Still, it’s done now. I’ve just finished speaking with the last of the friends who unsurprisingly, find such a sequence of results hilarious. To use the old adage “It’s only pre-season”, and we all know pre-season is “All about fitness”.
After the game, club legend Ronnie Whelan recalled on LFC TV “We lost 5-0 to Malmo during pre-season one year and went on to win the league, so it’s not really a measure of anything…” Well, I’ll take that, Ronnie. Clearly, all is not lost then?
Klopp now has no distractions before the season starts. For me, the squad has improved. Do I see them challenging for the top four? I believe they’ll be there or there abouts but I still think it’s going to be a huge ask. Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United will be in somewhat of a transition. Perhaps this may help. Having new managers who will be trying to convey their ideas may take some time.
One thing I’ve noticed though, is that when Liverpool faced a decent side this pre-season, they’ve been found wanting. Barcelona aside, they haven’t performed that well against other premium sides, most notably against Chelsea seeing as the team will face them some time relatively soon. In just over a month on 16th September at 9 pm to be exact.
Football is a confidence game and despite the undoubted dent the team’s would have taken today, a lot rests on the first four or five games of the season. Arsenal, Burnley, Tottenham, Leicester and of course Chelsea. Not the best start one could hope for. In terms of a return, I’d say Liverpool needs to be at the minimum into double figures.
Over the last five Premier league seasons, the top four teams have all (barring one or two exceptions) been around the 10-point mark after five games. When you consider Liverpool will play three of last seasons final top four in the first five games, then it brings home the kind of performances that will be demanded if another season of mediocrity is to be avoided. Five draws will be no use. At least three wins will be required to be anywhere close.
Sure, some Klopp-ites may call me a doubter. I prefer realist. It’s not got anything to do with having so-called “world class” players. As Leicester showed last term, it’s about having a team. A team that works, even with boring consistency. Defence, midfield and attack. If the Liverpool team plays as they can, then I believe 10 points from the initial five games – or from a possible 15 – IS doable.
Roll on next Sunday and the trip to North London. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Doable as: Within one’s powers; feasible. Let’s see if this applies to Liverpool FC next season.
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