Sport

Differing perspectives on Liverpool FC's slump

Kenny Archer

Kenny Archer

Kenny is the deputy sports editor and a Liverpool FC fan.

Everton celebrate as champions Liverpool suffer a fourth consecutive home defeat.
Everton celebrate as champions Liverpool suffer a fourth consecutive home defeat. Everton celebrate as champions Liverpool suffer a fourth consecutive home defeat.

Spineless. Utterly spineless.

That’s the only way to describe Liverpool FC over the past few weeks.

It’s not true of course. Except that it is.

Welcome to the twistyverse, to topsy-turvy world, to planet pundit, to supporterland.

The Reds have been spineless – in the sense that they’ve been missing their first, second, third, and fourth choice centre halves. First Virgil van Dijk, then Joe Gomez, then Joel Matip have been ruled out for the rest of the season. Then defensive midfielder Fabinho, who’d been filling in at the back, has been sidelined over recent matches. Finally – at least for now – another converted midfielder, captain Jordan Henderson, limped off at the weekend.

The list of central defensive partnerships has now - *takes off socks* - reached 18, although it’s a stretch to describe many of them as ‘partnerships’ as most of them have lasted for less time than it takes certain centre halves to turn….

Any team would struggle to cope with missing so many players from one specific department over such a sustained length of time.

Yet Liverpool have also been the other sort of ‘spineless’ in failing to win a single one of their last six home league games. Of course, visits from Manchester United, Manchester City, and Everton are rarely easy, but champions should have been able to find a way to overcome West Brom, Burnley, and/or Brighton.

Instead, they have lost the last four of those games at Anfield. Yet, except against the excellent Manchester City, defence wasn’t really the problem in those matches (and even then it was goalkeeping errors that proved most costly).

Making and taking chances have been the major issues, often both. Liverpool scored only twice over those six matches, with one of those coming from an extremely soft penalty award. Manchester United must be kicking themselves that they didn’t score either and dropped two points.

Much has been made of the lengthy injury list, and rightly so.

Yet in a few recent matches the Reds were close to full strength, only missing van Dijk and Gomez, albeit with Henderson and Fabinho playing out of position.

The consequences of removing that duo’s drive and determination from the midfield area was increasingly apparent, with a knock-on adverse effect on the team going forward.

As the team dropped deeper, the forwards got further away from the goal, and further away from scoring goals.

Still, let’s agree that Liverpool have been unlucky with injuries.

Ironically, predictably, two of Everton’s best performers on Sunday evening were the two players who’d done so much damage to Liverpool earlier in the season.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, whose wild, unpunished lunge wrecked van Dijk’s right knee, and striker Richarlison, whose red card challenge curtailed the start of summer signing Thiago’s Liverpool career, which had already been delayed by Covid-19.

Let’s also agree that Liverpool have been lucky with injuries. Not this season, of course, but over the preceding couple of campaigns.

Barring illness or suspension, the back four and the front three barely changed. Mostly, only the midfield three altered, and even then they were regularly Fabinho, Henderson, and Wijnaldum.

You could put that down to great management of players, to terrific sport science. Or luck.

Manager Jurgen Klopp chose to build a compact group of players, creating intense camaraderie and consistency.

The contrary contention is that Klopp was simply sowing the seeds of future trouble and that he’s reaping the whirlwind now as the fatigue factor kicks in during this especially compressed campaign. The club did not invest in a deeper squad and is paying the price now.

Clearly Klopp should have rotated more – as he did when he fielded Diogo Jota in the final Champions League group game… The Portuguese attacker then became another knee injury victim.

Another argument, which really requires argument, is that Liverpool’s confidence has completely gone in 2021. That’s obviously beyond dispute.

However, late last month they went to Tottenham and to in-form West Ham and recorded 3-1 victories at both. Indeed it’s understood that Liverpool are seeking to play all their remaining matches in London this season.

Just a week ago they actually went even further away from home, leaving the country, and convincingly beat a highly-rated RB Leipzig team 2-0 in the Champions League. (Admittedly it was in Budapest, not Leipzig, but still).

They even played pretty well at Old Trafford in the FA Cup and at Leicester City.

But they’re far, far short of the team they were.

Correct; but that’s also rather like comparing someone to their wedding day photograph – 30 years on.

Liverpool hit such incredible heights last season that it’s pretty unfair to use that as a comparison. Winning 26 of their first 27 matches was absolutely remarkable, unprecedented.

They racked up the second highest points total ever, 99, even after looking rather slipshod at times on their return to action after the first lockdown.

On the other hand, it’s not even a year on and the Reds are setting different sorts of records. Four consecutive home league defeats for the first time in almost a century.

Having gone 68 league matches without a loss at Anfield, comprising three full seasons.

That really is a remarkable transformation.

Slipping so far down the table that they might soon be glad that they’ve somehow already reached that ‘magical’ 40-point figure to avoid relegation.

All these things are true. Except maybe that last bit.

Depending on your perspective, there are reasons or excuses.

Oh, almost forgot. Liverpool – sorry, LiVARpool – have actually had more VAR decisions go against them than any other team.

Of course, you understand that really means that the Reds have benefitted from far more dodgy on-pitch calls than any other side until the impartial decision-makers at Stockley Park corrected them.

There’s always another way of looking at things.