What’s Going On With Liverpool
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY MattyLFC
Afternoon, all. Had a rare day off the other day and figured I’d finally get down to business regarding an article I’ve had percolating for a while. Namely, what’s going on with our team and why has it all gone wrong? Now, we cannot discount injuries having a massive effect on the campaign. Losing van Dijk, Gomez, and now Matip for the year makes it extremely difficult to form a back line. Likewise, not having Henderson or Fabinho in midfield anymore limits the fullbacks and their creative potential, making it the Bobby and Thiago show in terms of getting the ball to our goal scorers.
One of the main criticisms I’ve seen is that our forwards have been much less clinical compared to last season. Liverpool currently rank sixth in shot conversion this season in the Premier League, having scored 43 goals off of 465 attempts. The attempts are the most in the league and the goals scored are second-most behind only Manure. So, on the face of it, we’ve been a very strong attacking force this season. However, almost a quarter of them came in the season opener against Leeds and our game against Crystal Palace. Needless to say, it’s been feast or famine when it comes to goal scoring. Salah leads the entire league with 15 goals on the campaign, with Mane next in line with seven.
Again, the attack has been an issue this season, but not the main one. Likewise, the defense has had issues with injury and effectiveness, yet overall haven’t been bad outside of the ghastly Villa game. Liverpool have conceded 25 goals this season, good for sixth best in the league. Take the Villa game out, and we’re conceding, on average, less than one a game. Not bad considering we haven’t had our top two CBs for the majority of the year.
Well, if it’s not the defense, nor the offense, that’s been the main problem, what is it? Perhaps it is breaking down teams that set up to defend deep. Liverpool sit a mere thirteenth in goals scored from outside the box while ranking second in big chances missed. This suggests both a lack of spark from the midfield and a lack of clinical finishing from the forwards, neither of which is a good thing when you only get a few chances a game that are handed to you against a bus. However, Liverpool rank second in the league in through balls and far outpace second-placed West Ham in completed crosses, the number of which being 513. This suggests a solid amount of creativity in the team, they just aren’t getting the results needed.
Which brings me back to our original suggested problem of injury-prone players. Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, frankly, are two of the more infuriating players to support. Clearly great when they get a run of games, yet their own bodies prevent them from doing so. Ox, in particular, would add to our low tally of goals from outside the box. Matip is another that I so enjoy watching, yet I cannot get over the fact that he gets injured seemingly every other game. So, is the blame on FSG? While one might look at the signings of Kabak and Davies and think they haven’t done enough, I have faith that at least Kabak will look like an absolute star. Would I have preferred Koulibaly, Diego Carlos, or any of Leipzig’s young French CBs? Yes. In these times, would that have been reasonable? Probably not.
I had an interesting chat with Jock the other night on the forums about FSG, wondering how far behind can we go in terms of spending before it affects results? Looking at the squad as is, perhaps a few adjustments could be made. Namely, get a CB who can partner van Dijk, get another clinical forward (preferably taller, if we’re going to complete so many crosses, might as well have someone who can get their head on one), and get a midfielder who can score from outside the box. Having that goal threat alone should make teams more cautious about committing fully to stopping Trent and Robbo. Overall, we haven’t been bad this season, far from it. However, you just get the feeling we aren’t where we want to be. If you’ve got your own suggestions on what’s wrong and how to fix it, I’d really enjoy to hear your thoughts.
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