With 90 minutes gone on the clock in the 223rd Merseyside Derby, Anfield was nervous. The Reds were hanging on to a 1 goal lead and were just two minutes away from a crucial three points. A win against your local rivals was just the tonic Liverpool needed to kick start their stuttering season.
Then with one quick swing of Phil Jagielka’s right leg, it was 1-1 and Liverpool went from bouncing back to falling flat. Liverpool have managed just 7 points from the opening 6 Premier League games this season and whilst victory against Everton would have certainly helped matters, it really would have just been papering over the cracks.
The Reds performed quite well against Everton and for the first time all season, looked in control of a game, particularly down back. Two minutes away from just their second clean sheet of the season would have been warmly received on the red side of Liverpool, such have been their problems in defence.
It is here, where Liverpool have again fallen down this season. Brendan Rodgers is now into his third year at the helm of one of the biggest clubs in England and he still seems no closer to a solution down back.
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Rodgers first season in charge saw Liverpool concede 1.13 goals per game. Not world class but not terrible either. Last season saw that number go up to 1.31 goals per game. In what turned out to be a glorious second season in charge, Rodgers led Liverpool to within touching distance of their first Premier League title and their first league title in 24 years.
Of course, history now shows that Liverpool came up just short but more often than not Liverpool would need to win games 3-2 or 5-3. It became a trend for Liverpool, going into every game knowing they probably needed to score twice to win.
This season Liverpool are conceding an alarming 1.50 goals per game through 6 league games. Meaning that the goals conceded per game has steadily gone up in each of Liverpool’s last three campaigns. This year though, Rodgers has not being able to rely on the brilliance of Luis Suarez or the goals of the injured Daniel Sturridge to get them out of a tough spot.
So questions have to be asked about the players down back. Big money has been spent on the likes of Dejan Lovren, Mamadou Sakho and Simon Mignolet. All three however have been found wanting. Lovren was clearly Rodgers top defensive target in the offseason. He got his man yet Lovren has looked lost on more than one occasion this season.
Lovren was supposed to be the vocal leader the backline has missed since Carragher’s retirement but he hasn’t been able to settle and has been found wanting with his positioning allowing players to get in behind time and time again.
Sakho looks like an accident waiting to happen and despite spending 18 million to prise him away from PSG and the fact he has been at the club for over a year now, he still seems no closer to gaining the managers trust. He looks awkward on the ball and hasn’t been the commanding figure we are used to seeing when he plays for his national side.
Mignolet seemed an inspired buy for Liverpool early on but as the months dragged on, the mistakes piled up, which has led to rumours of bringing in Victor Valdes on a free transfer.
Nearly 60 million has been spent on defenders yet the goals conceded per game ratio continues to climb. Is it the system or the individuals? Steven Gerrard now sits in front of the back four, whilst you can never criticise his commitment to the Red cause, his aging legs are not carrying him as quickly as he would like.
Liverpool have problems, with the fixture list easing, their next four league games are visits from West Brom and Hull and trips to QPR and Newcastle, now is the time for Liverpool to kick start their season.
The return of Daniel Sturridge will help with scoring goals but conceding goals is the bigger issue. If Liverpool don’t start to keep more clean sheets and don’t begin to reduce that 1.50 goals per game conceded, then they could find themselves well out of the running for a top 4 finish before the season even gets going.
Does anyone know what Jamie Carragher is doing these days?
