دوشنبه Twenty-four 12 اسفند 1398 24 شماره 6434 روزنامه ورزشی صبح ایران صاحب امتیاز: خبرگزاری جمهوری اسالمی مدیرمسئول: علی عالی تلفن: 14 ــ 88504113 نمابر: 84711173 سازمان آگهیها: 1877ــ 88501300 ــ88746583 انتشارات: 5 و 88548892 امور مشترکین: 88748800 ــ 88521954 نشانی: تهران، خیابان خرمشهر، شماره 208 / صندوق پستی 5388-15875 چاپ: ایرانیان [email protected] Liverpool in danger of going ‘easy-osey’ with title in their grasp Guardian - There’s a phrase Joe Fagan was fond Liverpool shirt, by the end seemingly so rattled of, one he used repeatedly in his diary detail- and troubled by the possibility of being by Sarr ing the 1983-84 season as Liverpool complet- that he was giving him a couple of yards, letting ed a hat-trick of league titles: “easy-osey”. It him have time to turn. could happen in victory and it could happen in As is the Champions League – and in that re- defeat, but it meant the sense he had that the gard, the defeat by Atlético is potentially far team weren’t quite at it, that confidence was more important than the one at Watford. In De- in danger of tipping into complacency, that the cember, Liverpool looked by some distance the edge and the intensity that were so character- best side in the world; retaining the Champions istic of that Liverpool side weren’t quite there. League, far more than Premier League points Defeats rarely have a single origin, but there’s records, would be the way to prove it. Attached little doubt what Fagan would have been say- as Arsenal fans are to invincibility, and absurd ing about Liverpool after they lost at Watford on as counter-factuals can feel, there is an argu- Saturday. ment that a better season would have been to Of course there were other factors. Watford switch one of their 2-1 league wins over Chel- were excellent, for one, well-organised and re- sea with their 2-1 home defeat by them in the juvenated by the return of Kiko Femenia and Champions League. That would have put them Ismaïla Sarr. It’s no coincidence that their re- into a semi-final against Monaco, with José cent downturn in form has coincided with the Mourinho’s Porto to come in the final. Win that, absence of their right flank. And Sarr, with his and not only would Arsenal have had a Cham- intelligence of movement and pace drifting pions League, but the whole Mourinho at Chel- in from the right, was the perfect weapon for sea nightmare (it was 14 games before Arsène exposing Liverpool as Troy Deeney dominated Wenger managed to beat him) might never Dejan Lovren. have happened. The way the full-backs attack and the space Records are all very well, but trophies are prob- behind them will always be a potential vulner- ably a truer gauge of greatness. All sides are ability for Liverpool, but that was exacerbated allowed their dips, but if Liverpool are to cap by the way Virgil van Dijk found himself caught this season with glory in Istanbul, if they are between covering behind Andy Robertson to his to match the achievement of 1984 by add- left, and trying to help out Lovren to his right. He ing European success to the league title, the ended up having one of his poorest games in a easy-oseyness has to stop. Mourinho still fantastic & players want to Gerrard admits Rangers future hangs in the sign for him balance after shock Scottish Cup upset Jose Mourinho remains a “fantastic manager” “As a team, probably defensively they would hope Rangers crashed out of the Scottish Cup punch, it was incredible. and Tottenham will have no problem attracting to be a little bit better and not having those goals on Saturday after suffering a 1-0 defeat to “But today for 90 minutes, I didn’t recognise top players in the summer because “many” still at the top of the pitch makes it that much harder.” Hearts, leading manager Steven Gerrard to anything. So I’m feeling really low. Two sea- want to play for the proven Portuguese coach, Pressed on whether Mourinho needs to change admit that he will consider his role at the sons without a trophy isn’t good enough. It’s says Michael Brown. his ways to meet the challenges he currently fac- Ibrox club. not what I’m about. But that’s where it comes Questions have been asked of the man calling es, with the 57-year-old once famed for defensive Three days earlier, the Liverpool legend down on my shoulders. the shots in north London over recent weeks, stability, Brown said: “They have different shapes. watched his side dispatch in-form Portuguese “I need to think now. The plan was to have a with some suggesting that his powers are on the You look at your squad and see who you are going outfit Braga from the Europa League by win- day off on Sunday. But I need to think hard wane. to play against in your next game. ning 1-0 away from home, but a poor run of about where we are. I’ll do some serious Former Spurs midfielder Brown is not buying that, “You always question what is the right message, domestic form sees them trail Celtic in the thinking in the next 24 to 48 hours.” telling Goal of the former Chelsea and Manches- which way you go about things, and it’s no differ- Premiership by 12 points and staring down Gerrard was probed as to whether that might ter United boss: “He’s a fantastic manager. He ent for Jose Mourinho.” the barrel of another trophyless season. include his own managerial future, but while has a great record. Spurs’ struggles have come at the worst possible Saturday’s display at Tynecastle was a par- he admitted he needed time for self-reflec- “Someone with that experience, to have a bit of time, with the club facing a fight to secure Cham- ticularly limp affair, with the Gers being com- tion, he does not doubt his own ability. adversity with the injuries and be up against it, if pions League qualification for 2020-21. prehensively outplayed by an opponent that “I just need to think,” he said. “I’m feeling there’s ever a manager that can deal with these They only sit sixth in the Premier League at pres- finds itself in a relegation battle. pain right now because I want to win here, problems then it’s Jose Mourinho.” ent, while a 1-0 deficit must be overcome against Gerrard has confessed that it was the type of I’m desperate to win here. But looking from Tottenham’s cause in 2019-20 has been hindered RB Leipzig in a last-16 showdown if further conti- performance that has left him questioning if the side today, I didn’t get the impression by untimely knocks to the likes of Harry Kane and nental progress is to be made this term. he has a future at the club. that the feeling amongst my players was the Heung-min Son. Missing out on a place at Europe’s top table could “I’m very disappointed. It’s the lowest I’ve felt same. Those ailments have left Mourinho short of at- make it trickier for Tottenham to land targets in since I came into the job by a long way,” he “I need to analyse myself, for sure. Is it still tacking options, with no further firepower brought the next window, but Brown believes players will admitted. “The performance today was no- possible to win here? It will be extremely dif- in during the January transfer window. still buy into the Mourinho factor. where near good enough. ficult in the short term because of where we Brown added: “Kane and Son are wonderful play- “He’s a good attraction, Mourinho, regarding re- “On Wednesday night I was the proudest man are in the league. ers. When you are missing those, it’s going to be cruitment and players wanting to come and play in Europe because my players were outstand- “And we all know that we’ve punched above difficult. But they have still got some great quality for Spurs,” said Brown, who spent two years at ing. Everything we’ve worked on for two years, our weight in Europe so far. This is what I in the squad. White Hart Lane between 2004 and 2006. I could see it on the sidelines. I was proud as need to analyse in the coming days.”.