Liverpool weren't unlucky losing to Man Utd, they weren't good enough
BY [url=]TONY EVANS[/url]
The most disturbing thing about the aftermath of Liverpool's 1-0 defeat by Manchester United was the sense of shock around Anfield. There was bewilderment among fans, players and pundits. Wayne Rooney had performed a smash-and-grab routine. Liverpool were unlucky. That is the first notion that manager Jurgen Klopp needs to sweep away this week. His team were not hard done by. Louis van Gaal's side did not perform an act of larceny that involved broken glass. They meekly knocked on the door and were handed three points. United came to Anfield with one tactic: to swing in crosses to test a skittish defence and a substandard goalkeeper. At least they had a tactic. It worked. The easiest narrative to fall for is that Van Gaal's side have two world-class players in Rooney and David De Gea and that made the difference in the game. To accept such an analysis is to ignore the deeper problems that Klopp needs to address. Mamadou Sakho displayed the classic signs of post-defeat confusion. In an interview with French TV, he suggested United were lucky and knew it. The most telling phrase, though, was about what happened at the break. "We could hear them shouting in the dressing room at half time," Sakho said. (United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin confirmed the half-time fireworks.) Raucous disagreements between underperforming teams in dressing rooms are nothing new. Full and frank exchanges of opinions are healthy. United may be dysfunctional and incoherent on the pitch but the team contains a number of forthright personalities. Liverpool, on the other hand, lack leadership on the pitch. Perhaps Sakho would have been better calling his teammates to account for their inability to put away inferior opponents in the first half than eavesdropping on their rivals. Klopp needs to find leaders somewhere. There are not many at Melwood. The German may need to dip into the transfer market to acquire some. The paucity of character in the squad is a consequence of the club's recruitment policy. The sort of young players Liverpool have targeted may arrive on Merseyside armed with plenty of potential but they are still learning their trade. To expect them to develop on the pitch and provide moral impetus for the side at the same time is unrealistic. During the past three years Jamie Carragher, Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard have departed Anfield. Kolo Toure was supposed to help fill some of the void. The Ivorian may be a senior player, but he is no leader. Brendan Rodgers went out the exit door at Liverpool, too -- though he will not be remembered as affectionately as Carragher, Suarez and Gerrard. The former manager felt sufficiently emboldened by the team's lacklustre performances under his successor to attempt to rehabilitate his reputation on the morning of the United match and take a sideswipe at his enemies inside Anfield. The Northern Irishman talked about player recruitment during his tenure at Liverpool as if he was powerless. As might be expected, it was a single-viewpoint analysis -- it was always unlikely that Alexis Sanchez would sign and Rodgers never mentioned that he ignored entreaties from Toby Alderweireld in the summer -- but it pointed to a huge problem for Klopp. The disconnect between Rodgers and the men who chose the majority of the signings during his time at the club is the underlying issue at Anfield. Its symptoms are being seen on the pitch and will continue to manifest themselves for some time yet. For Klopp to be successful, Fenway Sports Group, the owners, need to ensure that the new manager is never able to point the finger at anyone else. It must be unquestionably the German's team. Liverpool need a unity of purpose behind the scenes. Klopp has questions to answer, too. He has found the pace and tactics of the Premier League more difficult to grasp than many people anticipated. He misjudged the team against United. Daley Blind must have celebrated when he saw the lack of a dedicated striker on the home side's team sheet. Christian Benteke may not be Klopp's ideal front man but the Belgian is a proven Premier League goalscorer. Liverpool looked unbalanced: too many midfielders and not enough goal threat. A manager of Klopp's stature should be astute enough to wring some production out of a player like Benteke. Most of the evidence of Klopp's first three months in charge suggests Liverpool will limp to the end of the season, producing the occasional exceptional performance but more often lacking direction and incisiveness. On the positive side, the cup competitions offer a chance to restore some of the feel-good factor to Anfield. There will be a clear-out in the summer. There needs to be. Anyone who is shocked by that -- either players or fans -- has not been paying attention.
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发表于 18-1-2016 11:04 AM
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