[Albion] Were the tactics naive or were two individual errors to blame?

[Withdean11]

I seem to remember Liverpool scoring a similar goal (as the first) against us last season under Hughton, with Bissouma giving the ball away on the edge of our box. It's not naive, Liverpool do that to teams.

I'd much rather lose like we did last night,than CH's approach of having everyone behind the ball and still lose. We will improve i'm sure.

 

[METALMICKY]

Individual errors against top class opposition who will nearly always make you pay. So was Souness suggesting that from the get go we should be belting it long?

 

[Gazwag]

I can see what Graham Souness was saying at half time, Liverpool were clearly up for it from the start with a very high press so maybe for the first 5-10 minutes we should have taken a slightly different approach, easy in hindsight though.

From the second goal onwards though I felt we played as well as we have all season, maybe even the best we have played all season

 

[vagabond]

You were sat watching that game crafting a mean spirited post.

I was sat watching thinking, 'bloody hell we're good and going to get better'.
While replying to text saying 'what a great game'.

There's different opinions and then there's different agendas.
I can't be doing with posters spewing out their agendas irrespective of what they've just seen.

It was a great performance I agree with you.

But I’m sorry, it was an individual error from Davy for the goal, and judging from this thread many others agree with me. Its not being mean, It’s not “an agenda” and it doesn’t make us “bad fans” or “doom mongers”. No offence intended, save your ire for the Villa, Leeds and Palace fans.

 

[keaton]

Both.
More than one or two individual errors, like with Stephen's getting caught on the ball later the decision to pass to players who will be under pressure the second they get the ball is an error.
And that's part of tactical issues on a few occasions in the Liverpool game ,like many others,
we are creating problems by passing the ball to someone under pressure. We will get better but unless we vary our play I don't think we'll push on

 

[raymondo]

It's both IMO. I like the Potter ideas, but surely we shouldn't try to play them 100% until the players have the ability, or are replaced with those who have. We can play out against weaker teams, but why try it against Liverpool who can play such a good high press. As a pundit on NBC said, as A Becker hit another long ball , ...see, even Liverpool don't play out from the back when Brighton press high, so why do Brighton think they can do it better?

 

[Swansman]

Graham Souness

Graeme, you blasphemer.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

It was a combination of both. Souness's point was that no team, not even Man City, try to play out from the back against Liverpool's high press in the first ten minutes when Firmino, Salah and company are fresh and out for blood. And we are not Man City.

If you're going to play out from your own 6-yard box at that stage against top opposition who press high, you'd better have a perfect first touch, and while Propper's is good, he's prone to carelessness. Webster always has that sort of mistake in him. And your best bet is to go wide, not through a congested middle.

I think this is right. Even the very best teams mix it up a bit. It was a shame about Webster's error last night. He's looked much more confident since the re-start. If he can cut out the errors he'll be one hell of a player.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Doubtless I will be in te monority again, I often seem to be lately, but to me Souness was absolutely right, this was the mighty Liverpool we were playing, not Lincoln City, or even Leeds United. We never ever vary it, but always, always, try and pass out from the back. Klopp had done his homework and Liverpool engaged the high press straight from kick off, sooner or later, with two or even three players in the mould of Mo Slah, or Roberto Firmino bearing down on you, you are always going to lose the ball in a dangerous position, and so it proved. Two goals down in less than ten minutes, and the game was all but lost.

I know it's Potters big footballing philosophy, (in the same way it was Gusx Poyet's), but we really do need to vary it at times, why not go with the long clearance sometimes? Perhaps after the first 15, 20 minutes or so, once we have got into the game, and the opposiktion are tiring a little bit, we can engage in more tippy-tappy stuff at the back. If only we hadn't conceded in the first few minutes of the match, who knows what the outcome might have been?

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

I think this is right. Even the very best teams mix it up a bit. It was a shame about Webster's error last night. He's looked much more confident since the re-start. If he can cut out the errors he'll be one hell of a player.

Absolutely right.

 

[raymondo]

I thought our style of play was superb, but predictable, and Klopp knew that, that is why they came at us like a train from the word go.
We need to add a variation, and that starts with Matty Ryan, he is the eyes of the defence. If Liverpool are closing you down really fast so that your
pass to Propper, for example, is not spot on or over hit, he has to warn Propper cos he is facing Ryan and cant see how close they are to robbing him.
I feel sorry for Davy cos he is always put in that position, centre of the goal and always receives the ball facing his own goal.
Passing to him is puuting him in trouble. Ryan needs to improve his dead ball kicking, and decide, we are in cr*p if I pass to Davy, i'll play it over the top
of their press where our quicker players have a chance of keeping possession.
We do not have to start from the back every goal kick, that is as predictable as Chris Hughtons team selection every match last season. Mix it up, that will also give
the opposition something to think about.
That said, we were superb going forward last night, i'm on the Potterball train 100%, jusy vary the defensive element occasionally please.

Great post! I feel the same. Ryan has to be more of the defence general in these situations, and if he can't do it then he'll need to be replaced. There were times when we played tippy tappy out from the back and we were actually out numbered 4 to 3 as the Liverpool midfield moved quickly to join the press; and yet STILL we tried to play out through the middle of their press! Either more of our midfield drop short to outnumber their press, or a 'winger' goes wide to receive, or Ryan hits it over the press into the midfield where we should outnumber them when they had 4 on a high press.
And... I know Propper made a sloppy technical error but it was one hell of a hospital pass from Ryan... I mean, what was Propper meant to do with it even if he hadn't screwed up? pass it back to Ryan who was getting under more pressure by the nano second? no, Ryan should have thumped it long...poor judgement by the guy who,as you rightly said, was the guy who could see the big picture.

 

[raymondo]

I am also in the minority camp with you

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Doubtless I will be in te monority again, I often seem to be lately, but to me Souness was absolutely right, this was the mighty Liverpool we were playing, not Lincoln City, or even Leeds United. We never ever vary it, but always, always, try and pass out from the back. Klopp had done his homework and Liverpool engaged the high press straight from kick off, sooner or later, with two or even three players in the mould of Mo Slah, or Roberto Firmino bearing down on you, you are always going to lose the ball in a dangerous position, and so it proved. Two goals down in less than ten minutes, and the game was all but lost.

I know it's Potters big footballing philosophy, (in the same way it was Gusx Poyet's), but we really do need to vary it at times, why not go with the long clearance sometimes? Perhaps after the first 15, 20 minutes or so, once we have got into the game, and the opposiktion are tiring a little bit, we can engage in more tippy-tappy stuff at the back. If only we hadn't conceded in the first few minutes of the match, who knows what the outcome might have been?

It's just not true.
We do vary it quite a lot actually. The long ball to Burn is increasingly an option we use (quite successfully).
I suspect this is the main reason why he is preferred to Bernardo.

With hindsight, starting with the long balls and then switching to playing out from the back would have been better. But that's hindsight for you.

 

[Icy Gull]

I could watch football like that every week. Yes we’ll get beat because of it sometimes but I suggest we’ll win more than we lose over a season once Potter has had a couple of transfer windows.

Bloody love it.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

It's just not true.
We do vary it quite a lot actually. The long ball to Burn is increasingly an option we use (quite successfully).
I suspect this is the main reason why he is preferred to Bernardo.

With hindsight, starting with the long balls and then switching to playing out from the back would have been better. But that's hindsight for you.

We had a long ball through to Gross? ruled out for offside last night.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Had Propper been properly under pressure, or likewise Webster who made his own decision to run down a blind alley, then I think I could blame tactics. However Propper didn’t actually have a man on him, was just unaware of that when he should be at this level, after going a goal down, I don’t know what Webster is thinking not just keeping it safe for 5 or 10mins.

So individual errors for me, don’t mind us being brave on the ball, worked for the rest of the game.

 

[SeagullinExile]

We played as good a football I've seen all season at times last night. A lesser team would of got battered by us. Imo.

 

[OzMike]

Wrong tactics with a sprinkling of stage fright.
I think we have started all the post pandemic games wrong, could be team selection or quality of players.
Iron this out and we will be a mid table side.

 

[DavePage]

You know when your a top team when, #teams like Brighton make mistakes that lead to goals and when you give the ball away which leads to a goal no-one says it’s a mistake.

 

[nickjhs]

We nearly scored inside the first minute.

Was thinking exactly the same, aside from a couple of errors we were good right from the start.