Is it Benteke’s fault? Sturridge’s for being too injury prone? Perhaps Coutinho’s for all those wasted shots? Perhaps, even Rodgers, still? Though fans understood the vastness of the overhaul required after Klopp’s arrival, patience is apparently a virtue hard to find this season. Despite the fact Liverpool remain 6 points away from the top four, are still in the FA Cup, have reached the last 32 of the Europa League with relative ease, and enter the semi-final of the League Cup it appears that many are perhaps too keen to single out individuals rather than note the enormity of the project underway.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Of course, it is easy to understand the seething frustrations amongst fellow reds. After being trampled on by West Ham, Liverpool have scored just 22 goals and have conceded 24 with key performers appearing either lethargic or entirely incapable of their duties. Having appeared defensively solid for a time Moreno’s concentration is shot, Coutinho’s creativity a distant memory, Benteke’s aerial dominance eliminated and Firmino’s ingenuity now becoming indecision. Yet, perhaps this line of enquiry has reached the point of becoming overwrought.
Klopp has himself claimed accountability, taking the blame for defeat against West Ham, “It’s my responsibility… I’m angry about myself today”. And, Jamie Carragher highlighted Klopp’s own learning curve,
“I chatted to Jurgen Klopp about a month ago at Melwood and that was the big thing. It’s not so much taken him by shock but until you’re in the Premier League you don’t know what it’s like week in week out… if you want to make an impact in the Premier League, you’re going to play the top four or five teams, eight to 10 times a season. The rest, the other 30 games, is what the Premier League is about. Liverpool have struggled in those games”.
Unsurprisingly, revitalisation doesn’t occur instantaneously. If we are to draw hopeful parallels, in Klopp’s first season Dortmund finished 6th winning just the DFL-Supercup (the relative equivalent of Germany’s community shield). In his second season Klopp’s Dortmund finished 5th, hardly setting the world on fire. Yet, crucially this patience enabled a complete overhaul of the squad leading to the the attainment of back-to-back Bundesliga titles. In this sense gradual and perhaps unnoticeable improvement can lead to a club reaching a ‘tipping-point’, finally becoming able to complete with the league’s elite after a spell of relative averageness for a club of such stature.
It was Milner’s and in part Lallana’s fault at a time as to why Liverpool languished in the league. A short time ago, it was Lovren’s fault too; yet now the Croatian seems authoritative, invigorated at the helm of the defense, while the once dominant Sakho seems error-prone. Revealingly, it has become fashionable to hate and to love several players in the Liverpool ranks. At times Can and Coutinho have been invulnerable to fair criticism, and yet now their weaknesses are being revealed slowly to the Anfield faithful.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Ultimately, it is all their responsibilities. Liverpool at times this season have appeared rotten to the core. However, the manner in which scapegoats are made and shifted this season is rather worrying. Once a pariah, Lovren has come out the other side of a long period of abuse. And, for a short time Benteke’s purple patch dispelled the notion that the Belgian was merely Andy Carroll Mark 2. Yet, it appears we have learnt little from these improvements. Instead of recognising the capacity for improvement, swathes of fans highlight the fickleness of form.
‘The Times’ writer Tony Barrett stated that,
“It’s commendable for Klopp to say he wants to work with these players but too many of them aren’t good enough. Same shortcomings repeated”
This is a widely acknowledged viewpoint, and yet the emphasis on “too many” has appeared to go largely unnoticed. Frankly, Liverpool need a host of first team players. An injury crisis has not only prevented players from playing, but it has forced footballers to play below their maximum capability while risking injury. European involvement coupled with a dwindling squad, has unsurprisingly heaped pressure on players either in their infancy as Premier League footballers, or those still adapting to the English game and what the new manager requires of them after just four months in charge. Admittedly, some players will perhaps never attain the competence of what Liverpool Football Club demands, yet consistently singling out players will surely only add to that burden.
This scapegoating, and the certain player bias’ fans have, leaves a distinctly sour taste in the mouth, with the current squad struggling to keep their head’s above the ever-rising water of mediocrity. In taking a casual glance at Twitter or Facebook some fans appear to take a perverse joy in seeing individual players perform badly, merely to service their own predictions or apparent favouritism. Obviously, this will always be the case, yet the degree to which it occurs is somewhat disheartening, when preaching for patience was the first port of call after Klopp’s arrival.
Arguably the deadwood of Rodger’s side still remains in the squad today. And, I for one could rattle off several names that never have appeared to make the cut for this side. Yet, this perhaps will do little good at this time, when a message of support in the pub, online or at the ground may be of more use. And, this will be perhaps of great relevance when we exit the January transfer window, while we attempt to make Anfield a fortress once again. As when additions or removals to the squad are impossible, supporting those players to do their best is surely the most appropriate recourse.
I for one, could never have predicted Lovren’s resurgence. Nor, could I foresee the gradual reliance on Lallana’s ability, outlined expertly in ‘The Lallana Role’, indeed Liverpool have now won 58% of games with the Cruyff-obsessed midfielder, compared to just 12.5 % without him. Subsequently, what should stop Christian Benteke, Nathaniel Clyne, Coutinho or any of the like achieving the same improvement? Clearly Liverpool have a talented squad, even with their own deep-rooted issues. Although there will always be frustration for a misplaced pass, or an erratic shot, the immediate vitriol for certain players has began to cultivate somewhat of an unhealthy ‘blame game’ in spite of the optimism once achieved in this transitional period for the club.
Fans have every right to frustration, anger and disappointment, especially when the frequency and predictability of mistakes are highlighted. However, lets not forget those darker times under Rodgers. This is long road to recovery, make no mistake about that. Yet, let us perhaps not dwell too much on individual mistakes as those same players will possibly not be here in two years time. But, for now they play for the club, and they still have the opportunity to improve, and to avoid becoming the scapegoats we often too quickly create.
Ben Butler
Latest posts by Ben Butler (see all)
- The risk of Klopp’s transfer waiting game - September 2, 2016
- Have Liverpool done enough in the transfer market? - August 20, 2016
- What can we take away from Liverpool’s win against Tranmere? - July 8, 2016
Spot on Ben. It saddens me to read some of the horrible things our so called fans write about individual players. We all get frustrated and sometimes even angry (Just ask the Manager) but to lay all the blame on one individual (whoever the bad flavour of the month is) from one match to another is extremely unfair and unwarranted. Just as our problems are an accumulation of previous errors of game style, player positions and plain old bad signings. Add to that the loss of a world class striker, the experience and leadership of SG, a possible emerging star like Sterling and of course an alarming number of long term injuries haven’t helped. Our Manager knows he has quite a job in front of him which undoubtably cannot be fixed overnight or even in one transfer window. Yes, we all need to remind ourselves that no defender or keeper deliberately allows the opposition to goal nor does any striker deliberately miss scoring goals.