2020/21 Carlo Ancelotti

[Toffe3m4n]

The problem is Brands has spent £270 million to build a squad most on here are saying is not good enough and is letting the manager down.

So for me its either the DOF isn't good enough or the manager isn't the right fit for this club/group of players.

I cant have faith in both as one has to compliment the other and if we are failing someone isn't doing their job.

They've had one summer window together, which everyone at the time (and many still do) considered a success. The expectation amongst the fans will be that they replicate it at worst and improve on it at best and they'll know this.

I do agree that it's now time that both of them earned their corn, Ancelotti in particular. Just praying that they'll work together well to get the balance right.

 

[BlueToff]

Klopp had Gerrard who carried that RS team while scoring 15+ a season we have no midfielder that can do that

Gerrard left Liverpool before Klopp took over

 

[DanEFC92]

If I watch any of that turgid crapness next season i will do a dirty protest

Does that involve pishing yourself at the match?

 

[BlueToff]

I'm worried. I think anyone who isn't worried has their head in the sand. Hopefully there's a proper plan in place and we start to see the fruits of that this summer, but so far I've seen absolutely nothing from either Ancelotti or Brands that gives me any confidence whatsoever that we're going in the right direction. He has to be given time, of course, and maybe it will all magically click next season, but things have got to get much better very quickly. His past is buying him patience for now, if we start next season playing like we have for the last 18 months then the knives will well and truly be out. He needs to show that he's not yesterday's man and that he doesn't need a squad full of top class players in order to be able to play anything resembling coherent football. The signs are not promising.

I have seen some signs...

Godfrey's addition was a smart one. The lad's raw but has that power and physicality you need in this league and that takes you a long way.

Doucoure, Allan and James all good signings in their own right but they are not the whole solution and have limitations. I also think CA has not used either Allan or Doucoure in anything close to roles that have got the best out of them, other than on odd occasions.

I do think there is the basis of a team that could be decent on the counter, but we need to add several players with real pace and tenacity for that to work and even then, my worry is we are one dimensional as we do not have any other way of playing - or not one that seems to have been worked on this season.

We have regressed as the season has gone on. It's been a long slog, and plenty of issues, though we've somehow avoided any covid positives which is mad.

We should have still seen more from him and them. What has been served up has not been good enough. Nobody is asking for peak City 2017-18. We just want to be able to see that there's a plan for each game and not just a load of lads put on the field.

Brands is a lucky man. He's done an awful job with the squad in terms of balance, and left us short in every window. He's here because it's probably better to stick with the devil you know but excuses have run out now. There's big wasters off the books as of next month and he should be getting money in for players - it is quite literally his job.

 

[toffeeblue9]

Obviously losing by that scoreline yesterday makes everything seem worse, I think Ancelotti was on the money when he said we tried to play higher and on the front foot because we had to win the game but it brutally exposed our shortcomings

Having said that, I think the whole "finishing 10th" thing needs to be put into context - you can only influence your own results, not anyone else's and we finished with 59 points and a goal difference of minus one. Since the turn of the century, that would have been good enough for the following league placings (working backwards)...

8th, 7th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 8th, 8th, 8th, 7th, 6th, 9th, 7th, 7th, 6th, 7th, 5th, 5th, 7th, 7th, 7th

I actually think the points total is an acceptable one in the context of the problems Ancelotti inherited, but it feels worse because we've had a freak season where for the first time in over 20 years that points tally hasn't been good enough for higher than 10th

In any case, think we would all agree that progress will need to be made next season, but I'm pretty flabbergasted at the stuff I've seen posted about wanting him gone

 

[blueblue]

I have seen some signs...

Godfrey's addition was a smart one. The lad's raw but has that power and physicality you need in this league and that takes you a long way.

Doucoure, Allan and James all good signings in their own right but they are not the whole solution and have limitations. I also think CA has not used either Allan or Doucoure in anything close to roles that have got the best out of them, other than on odd occasions.

I do think there is the basis of a team that could be decent on the counter, but we need to add several players with real pace and tenacity for that to work and even then, my worry is we are one dimensional as we do not have any other way of playing - or not one that seems to have been worked on this season.

We have regressed as the season has gone on. It's been a long slog, and plenty of issues, though we've somehow avoided any covid positives which is mad.

We should have still seen more from him and them. What has been served up has not been good enough. Nobody is asking for peak City 2017-18. We just want to be able to see that there's a plan for each game and not just a load of lads put on the field.

Brands is a lucky man. He's done an awful job with the squad in terms of balance, and left us short in every window. He's here because it's probably better to stick with the devil you know but excuses have run out now. There's big wasters off the books as of next month and he should be getting money in for players - it is quite literally his job.

I think that is a fair assessment of the season, there is no doubt that as the season went on it became more of a grind and far less enjoyable.

But, I do believe there is the basis there of a good team if the right reinforcements are addeed.

 

[Egil Olsen]

Why compare with Klopp? I do not get it. His development with LFC was largely linear, until this season. Ancelotti's curve points downwards. That is, over time, Liverpool only did better and better, while we have not had that development. We have had the opposite development under Ancelotti.

Klopp has a fairly recognizable style, and is recognized for his counterattack pressure, and pressure traps. He never makes major adjustments, but works purposefully and continuously within his philosophical framework.

Because Klopp has a pretty good idea of how he wants the team to play, it will also be much easier to get the right types of players. They can constantly build layer upon layer. Here it is the collective that will make the individual better, while we focus on the individual to make the collective better.

Klopp is a manager who over time, with different teams, has shown that he can perform far above expectations. He is used to being creative in finding solutions, because he has rarely had teams with world-class players, and trained clubs that can buy themselves out of crises.

 

[Joey66]

Carlo = been sacked before..... if he has a bad season next year it will happen again ......

 

[Kev50]

I'm worried. I think anyone who isn't worried has their head in the sand. Hopefully there's a proper plan in place and we start to see the fruits of that this summer, but so far I've seen absolutely nothing from either Ancelotti or Brands that gives me any confidence whatsoever that we're going in the right direction. He has to be given time, of course, and maybe it will all magically click next season, but things have got to get much better very quickly. His past is buying him patience for now, if we start next season playing like we have for the last 18 months then the knives will well and truly be out. He needs to show that he's not yesterday's man and that he doesn't need a squad full of top class players in order to be able to play anything resembling coherent football. The signs are not promising.

this is exactly the point. It took Klopp four years to get Liverpool really firing, but you could see significant improvement year on year. The players he bought were all of the right age, for the future. And the footy was great to watch. Us, the football at home has been quite literally unwatchable, the signings started off well and then fell off a cliff, and are of the wrong age (Ben excepted). Most worrying of all, Carlo's demeanor. We 'had a good season'. No mate, we really didn't. My biggest fear with a galactico manager was that he wouldn't care one jot about getting the sack as he's already banked his fifty million, and sure enough, he doesn't give the impression he will be burning the midnight oil at FF this Summer

 

[KaiserEFC]

His man management style of letting the players do whatever they want probably isn’t the best go to for our group of players.

 

[larrygobfiend]

The mental gymnastics at play to try and justify his performance this season is astonishing. The improved points total is down to the league being the weakest it’s been in a long while. Just look at the state of Spurs and Arsenal!!
This season has been a massive missed opportunity that might not come round again...

 

[Bluestar]

The football has to improve. I couldn’t cope with another season watching that.

I can only hope that with the expected personnel changes, we can see a more expansive style of play.

I’m sure the club will see this season as progress, but will want more next season.

Earlier in the season, I think we would have viewed last summer’s signings as a great success. Where we have got to now with a full season under our belt, I’m not sure we would be quite so generous.

Perhaps they just run out of steam with an intensive Premier League campaign. We definitely need a bigger squad to cope with the season though. And injury or two and we just can’t manage.

I hope Carlo changes his mind about using some of the younger players, I think we could’ve used some of them in the latter part of this season. If they haven’t gone on loan and been available to us I’m sure Gordon would’ve been of use.

 

[Lee Smith]

the viewing pleasure was non existent, apart from the joy of the long awaited win at Greyskull.

Quick "Masters of the Universe" related off-topic comment from me....

I've never understood why we refer to Anfield as that. "Castle Grayskull" is the home of He-Man, and is known as the hall of wisdom and the centre of Eternian culture and a storehouse of all knowledge of the universe. We really should call it "Snake Mountain", which is located in the Dark Hemisphere and is home to the villainous skull-faced Skeletor.

 

[toffeeblue9]

The mental gymnastics at play to try and justify his performance this season is astonishing. The improved points total is down to the league being the weakest it’s been in a long while. Just look at the state of Spurs and Arsenal!!
This season has been a massive missed opportunity that might not come round again...

If the league has been the weakest it's been in ages, why is 59 points only good enough for 10th?

 

[Bigduke1234]

His weaknesses shouldnt distract from his qualities, hes been very good for us this season and it baffles me the hoops people jump through to claim otherwise.

We play too deep for me, he impacts our whole system. I for one will cry if he’s first choice next season as we can’t make any progress until the CB situation is resolved. And we need two new CBS.