Liverpool Pegged Back
It's hard to pin down any sort of exact feeling about Liverpool at the moment. Positivity gives way to negativity and then back again in a matter of minutes, a great big swirling vortex of contradictions, stats and facts and feelings that all flow together. Part of the problem with being a football supporter in the modern era is Twitter, which will overanalyse everything to death and both completely reinforce and simultaneously undermine your opinion ten times over in the space of twenty minutes, all in the same passive-aggressive and irritated tone that suggests anyone who doesn't agree with you is being stupid. Try that, times a hundred, with multiple different opinions. Anyone who thinks that Jordan Henderson can play defensive midfield is losing the plot. But anyone who thinks he's a bad player is stupid. Except those who know he's amazing. But above all else, one opinion is shouted, blindly into the void, by almost everyone. Trust Klopp.
The contradiction is vast. Everyone telling us to trust Klopp, myself included, can see five or six different problems with every line up that he sends out on a weekly basis. They want Klopp, but they don't want what Klopp is doing. A contradiction that lies at the heart of Liverpool's fandom as they wrestle themselves over whether or not the club is moving forwards or backwards.
And then we come to the Spurs game, ninety minutes in which it was equally possible to be both positive and negative in equal measure. Jordan Henderson remained in the defensive midfield role, Roberto Firmino started up front ahead of Daniel Sturridge, Milner was preferred to Moreno at left back and we saw a full Premier League debut for Joel Matip.
The game itself. Liverpool played very well, certainly outplayed Spurs. Created multiple good chances, and should easily have moved at least two or three clear before Spurs pegged us back, a defensive error from Clyne, who simply didn't trust Matip to win his defensive header and got dragged to the ball, freeing Rose to slot past a helpless Mignolet. In terms of decisions, there's a lot for both sides to dispute but I thought that every decision went right. No, Matip didn't block off Janssen, yes LFC should have had a penalty, the offside call was correct and whilst Mane was maybe lucky to stay on the pitch neither of his tackles were stonewall bookings.
There's very little to actually talk about or analyse from the game itself for me. I thought Matip was exceptional at the back, Henderson turned in easily his best performance in defensive midfield, Firmino's pressing is vital to our game, and if Coutinho had had his shooting boots on we'd have won easily. Mane increasingly looks to be a phenomenal signing and if he plays like he did against Spurs, he will get goals for our team.
The problems that remain are as obvious as ever: fragility at the back (although Matip has already gone a long way towards fixing this problem, he's easily twice the player Lovren is, and once Sakho is finally able to earn his way into Klopp's favour, those two will form a formidable partnership), the lack of balance in midfield is not solved by Henderson having a cracking game and Wijnaldum should still not be playing. Milner is turning in good performances at left back, but he's nothing more than a stop gap solution. At least Karius will be back after the international break.
But, for all of this weighing up of positives and negatives, I can't help but feel apprehensive. I don't trust or like the 4-3-3. I don't feel it plays to the player's strengths as much as the 4-2-3-1. The balance of our midfield is a deliberate choice that Klopp is making and I'm not sure that it's working. I appreciate Firmino at CF works to an extent but I can't help but feel that Klopp is shoehorning him into a 4-3-3, when his best position for me is the CAM in a 4-2-3-1. Any team that is missing Sturridge and Origi just looks short on firepower. The decision to alienate Sakho, even if he is causing trouble, when Lovren is so clearly inferior baffles me.
To be blunt, we've started this season okay, but I've not been overly impressed by any our performances. We were awesome for twenty minutes against Arsenal, and at times against Spurs but I've seen very little to suggest we're going to challenge the top four. None of our performances have been as good as they were for swathes of last season under Klopp and based on the display against Burnley the consistency hasn't improved either.
Which pitches us back into the heart of the matter. I do trust Klopp, and I do want Klopp. But at the moment, it really does feel as though we're going to have to ride it out. I was hoping that Klopp having time with the squad and an extended pre-season would mean we would be able to avoid the teething problems upsetting the likes of United and City, but even they have hit the ground running, admittedly against inferior teams.
Truthfully, the words: "I trust Klopp" are becoming increasingly meaningless, as dissent in the ranks is getting louder and louder. I don't know whether or not I think Liverpool can challenge for the top four, and the start of this season has been a rude awakening, as we are clearly not where we should be by this point. But on the other hand, it's entirely possible that the defence just needs some tweaking, and once Can and Karius return to the fold everything will be rosy. Even writing this blog, the alarming swing from positivity to negativity is overriding all else.
It's going to be an interesting few months.
The Hard and Fast Section
- City are increasingly looking like title winners.
- England have butchered Pakistan. Again.
- Kyle Edmund has upset Richard Gasquet. Conqueror.
- Arsenal splurging the cash. Finally. All hail Wenger.
- And Leamington FC continued their fine start to the season.
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