A real pressing problem at Liverpool FC?
Under the stewardship of new boss Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool have started the new league campaign in similarly inconsistent form to last season, even if the performances themselves have by and large been on an upward curve. The main issue holding them back from converting their increasingly impressive displays, though, has been the penchant that the side have developed for individual errors at the back, which could harm their ambitions this year.
From their opening seven league games so far this season, the side have conceded 12 goals and kept just one clean sheet, coming in their latest league outing against Stoke on home turf. This has seen them render just six points and they currently sit in 14th in the table below the likes of Sunderland, Swansea and most importantly, city rivals Everton and they’re already eight points off the top four.
While Rodgers and captain Steven Gerrard have spoken about how the side still has realistic ambitions of a top four finish this term, in private, they must realise that with such a young side, inconsistent performances are par for the course and that a top eight finish is much more likely.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has already shown his commitment to the new direction that Rodgers is taking the club by refusing to put any such minimum requirements on what the side must achieve this season in terms of a league finish or cup success, but that’s not to say that mediocrity will be indulged and the back five have been seriously under-par throughout their start to the season.
That’s not to say that the team’s defensive struggles have been consigned solely to their domestic campaign, though, for the side has also conceded six goals in their last two Europa League clashes away to Swiss outfit Young Boys and at home to Udinese, where a loss in concentration, an own goal and some excellent finishing saw the Serie A outfit score three times in a bonkers 26-minute spell as Liverpool lost control of a game which for long spells they had been the better side to tell a crushingly familiar story.
Reflecting on the Udinese defeat, Rodgers told reporters last week: “We had been so dominant in the game and the players were outstanding, so I was just frustrated for them that we had let Udinese back in the game, and then ultimately come out of it with nothing. The players give everything and we are just working very hard to cut out the mistakes, because I think once we cut them out, we can be a real force as a team. If we can just cut out the mistakes that unfortunately we are getting punished for, then I believe we can do very well.”
Against Manchester City at Anfield, the side may have achieved a 2-2 draw against the current Premier League champions with n inexperienced and youthful side, but it was once again a case of what might have been, with Pepe Reina and Martin Kelly combining to hand Yaya Toure the first and Martin Skrtel playing a suicidal back-pass to Carlos Tevez for the second in a game that they again dominated for prolonged spells.
Last season, for the most part, despite their form falling away towards the back end of the campaign after their Carling Cup triumph, the back four was the platform upon which their early form was based upon and they kept a healthy 12 clean sheets, two more then Chelsea managed. They’d be fortunate on current form to reach a similar tally.
It’s not just that the individual form of key players has fallen away to such an alarming extent, with Pepe Reina seemingly in a slump from which there is no return and in the nasty habit of gifting easy goals away, but the system which Rodgers has attempted to implement has taken longer than previously expected for the squad to adjust to.
The 4-3-3 system which he prefers revolves around dominating possession in the middle of the park. The central midfield player at the tip of the three is supposed to support the lone striker, while the two behind him dominate and control the tempo. The width is created almost entirely from the overlapping of the full-backs, with the two wingers often asked to play in an inverted style to create the space outside of them.
This in turn means that the two centre-backs have to split wider apart than they’ve normally been asked to in the past so that they can cover the space that was occupied by the full-backs last term, while a central midfielder, normally Joe Allen, drops a little deeper to plug the gap between them if they’re caught on the break. While Agger is certainly comfortable on the ball, his lack of playing time appears to have caught up with him so far while Skrtel is far removed from the dominant force he can sometimes be.
Of course, this is not to say that the back four at the club is beyond repair and in Martin Kelly, Andre Wisdom and Jack Robinson, they have three full-backs capable of playing for the club for years to come while Sebastian Coates looks well placed to fully take over from the ageing Jamie Carragher at some point in the next year or so.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
As a unit, they’ve not been at their best yet and with the rest of the side adapting to the demands of Rodgers methods well enough the past month or so in particular, things will only improve in the future, but the individual errors which have stained their promising, if unfulfilled start to the season need to become a thing of the past and something which they’ve gotten out of their system early on.
A clean sheet against a physical Stoke side is a step in the right direction, but consistency is the key if they want to be a top eight side again this year, which ability-wise, they’re more than capable of becoming once more.
You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1