22 Aug 2016 12:33:34
After this weekend we're all trying to figure out how we can beat Arsenal one week then lose to Burnley the next. Most of us are concluding that this pretty accurately represents the state of Liverpool since Klopp took over, we beat the best teams but struggle against supposed weaker opposition. I wanted to check if this was perception or reality so I looked at the numbers. In 'big' games (The supposed big 4, Spurs, Leicester, Dortmund, Villareal and Sevilla) we average the equivalent of 1.63 pts per game under Klopp (8 wins, 7 draws, 4 losses), that's pretty decent. Against everyone else we average 1.69pts (16w, 11d, 8l) . Although that is better you would expect a much more significant difference than 0.06 pts so the theory is borne out, we aren't doing as well against supposed weaker teams as we would expect to.

Lets put this into some context compared to our ambitions. When Chelsea won the league two seasons ago they averaged only 1.58 pts against the next best 6 sides, Leicester averaged just 1.5 last year. Under Klopp we're better than that. Where we fall massively short is in comparison to Chelsea's 2.62 pts and Leicester's 2.42 against everyone else. This has been a long a laborious way of saying that we have to find a way of improving against the sides we're expected to beat.

How do we do that? I think the reason that Hendo is playing as the anchor is because Klopp thinks he may be the solution. Instead of having possession in the opposition half and attempting to put the ball through the eye of the needle he wants to hold possession deeper and draw out the opposition midfield giving more space for Mane and our other attackers to exploit. Hendo's job is to control that possession and launch the attacks. On Saturday this went wrong though, we tried to keep possession in our half, were hustled off the ball and lost the early goal. Once they were ahead Burnley refused to be drawn out and our plan fell through. This doesn't mean this plan is wrong, we just need to get better at it, success this season is reliant on us getting it right sooner rather than later.

1.) 22 Aug 2016
22 Aug 2016 12:58:40
Good post muscatred and I agree. Would add that he needs to find a plan B even if we do get better at plan A. So far I haven't seen a change in systems or style when needed. Hope he learns and implements.

2.) 22 Aug 2016
22 Aug 2016 13:18:37
Burnley was rigid, compact and tight at the back. They knew how to make us frustrate. Take out Coutinho and cut the supply of creativity. Coutinho shooting from distance was an indication he just couldn't pick the pockets between lines. Sit back and defend on numbers. Liverpool takes plenty of time on the ball which gives them amble time to get back into shape. And with us sending every man except Hendo and back 2 further up they hit us on the break and took Henderson out from the game completely.

If you ask yourself, there exist no midfielders currently who could put a decent Tackle. Now that's a surprise.

3.) 22 Aug 2016
22 Aug 2016 14:17:48
If the opposition sits in a low block and gives you that much possession, you have little option but to create width from wingers/ fullbacks to stretch the play and then look to dangerous balls into the box until you eventually score. Our problem is Moreno, Clyne, Coutinho, Firmino aren't really that sort of player. We tried to play through the middle and failed miserably.

Mane will make a bit of a difference but we still could do with better delivery from our fullbacks and Origi upfront.

It's maybe not the Liverpool way but that's probably why we're not winning vs these sorts of teams.

4.) 22 Aug 2016
22 Aug 2016 18:19:46
The key is not only stretching the game through width but length too. I'm no football tactician, but I know enough that if 10 men from the opposition are playing well below the half way line, you have to stretch them out to create the lines and channels for passes to go through. And this requires not only patience but also seeing when it needs to be done, before firing a pass forward when there's an advantage somewhere. Of course, the fans will boo and the pages here will get filled with complaints about our fullbacks passing it back and forth (like in the old Rodgers' days) but it's either stretch the opposition out to create more spaces or go forward into packed spaces and have no option but to fire long distance shots into the stands, and lose.