IN among the bluster of the story, perhaps the defining moment of an entire era was buried last week when Alex Teixeira gave an exclusive interview, detailing precisely why he wanted to leave Shakhtar Donetsk while wearing a polo shirt issued by the club that pays his wages.
He didn’t bother serving up the usual platitudes for his preferred destination either, reasoning before anything else that Liverpool was attractive because: “So many great players have passed through there.”
Teixeira would not be the first footballer to claim to the British media that the context of his comment disappeared in the translation somewhere, though he hasn’t had to yet because the deal did not get completed.
He nevertheless offered an impression: one that disrobes the truth of how Liverpool is viewed by players from abroad, particularly those seeking elevation to the next stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2PivFLsNJ4
By loosely referencing “passing through”, Teixeira was conceivably eyeing exit routes before he’d even passed through the doors of Anfield, adding weight to the theory that rather than being a destination like it once was, Liverpool is now a stepping-stone on the path. That’s a consequence, certainly, of the sales sanctioned since 2011, coupled with the absence of success on the pitch — influenced largely by poor recruitment in response.
History has proven that Fernando Torres was sold at the right time, although the judgement then was based around the player’s desire rather than an informed appraisal of his fall in standards.
Luis Suárez went in 2014 as he approached his peak years as a footballer and then Raheem Sterling departed last summer when he was still regarded merely as potential.
With that, Sterling became the first really young player with unquestionable talent to leave Liverpool because of his own wishes rather than the club’s.
It is not too late to change the trend and send the wider mood spinning in a more positive direction.
I spent some time recently with Gérard Houllier. There are parallels with the job that he faced in 1999 and the one Jürgen Klopp has to tackle right now, though for Klopp the challenge is even greater considering the lack of guidance and wisdom available to him.
In difficult times, Houllier leaned on Peter Robinson and Tom Saunders for the right advice. When Klopp looks above, he must surely see careerists and great survivors. If he can’t, then Liverpool really are in trouble.
Houllier told me that the good modern managers are identified by their public image and I found this depressing until he detailed why.
Markus Babbel, Houllier explained, was in many ways his most crucial signing because he came from Bayern Munich at his peak when lots of other important European clubs wanted him too.
Babbel’s recruitment said to rivals: Liverpool are serious again. It made other top players think about Liverpool as a last stop. “It also sent out a message to the fans,” Houllier reasoned with force. “They began to trust me.”
Liverpool supporters presently have to believe Klopp when he asks them to because a perception exists that no-one else can be trusted.
Fenway Sports Group have run Liverpool with greater financial responsibility than their predecessors, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, but that alone is not enough to release the bunting and direct an open-top bus trundling down Walton Breck Road, especially when, but for a few, their legacy-project — the expanded Main Stand — will send the cost of watching live matches at Anfield into a new stratosphere for the sake of a sum that would pay for Alberto Moreno’s redundant right leg.
FSG would be entitled to argue against the suggestion that Bayern Munich charge £100 for a season ticket so Liverpool should do the same by pointing out it is also cheaper to watch Bayern on any given weekend than it is Tranmere Rovers in the Conference National.
Would sharper thinking transform Anfield to a happier social venue for fans, though, and therefore, a more productive workplace for home players?
The ticket announcement yesterday, indeed, only adds to the pressure on the players as a sense of entitlement on the terraces increases, thus also bringing Klopp’s work into acute focus.
Klopp enthusiastically told FSG that he could work with the squad shaped last summer by Brendan Rodgers and the transfer committee having seen the names and judged them from afar. For FSG, this accord went some way to clinching his appointment.
And yet Klopp’s insistence overlooked the fact introductions between himself and the players had not been made. Klopp did not know any of them personally so, at best, he was naïve to believe supposed skill sets on paper matched the character he needs.
At worst, Klopp’s judgement was as misplaced as anyone else’s. He speaks well of Roberto Firmino, who has scored a few nice goals in the last few months but the Brazilian gives up when it’s not going for him.
It would not be a shame if the defence fielded at Leicester City last night was scrubbed out entirely, while the midfield lacks the dynamism or passing range to deliver the type of energetic and swift football Klopp is known for.
In attack, Liverpool are on course to score the lowest number of goals in a Premier League season.
In early 2016, this is Liverpool: a team made up of mid-table players in a mid-table position.
The signs are that the owners will trust Klopp in the summer to sort it out and plot Liverpool’s recruitment strategy, a bit like they did with Kenny Dalglish before millions upon millions were supposedly wasted.
In replacing him with Brendan Rodgers, they moved away from individual accountability, using the departmental and middle-management model that exists at most big businesses.
Within that framework, FSG adopted the Arsenal concept of trading until the realisation dawned it was flawed because Arsenal’s best remaining players grew tired of waiting, the pay-structure did not reflect performance to them and ultimately, it did not win trophies.
Liverpool used to be the trendsetters in English football but now they are dedicated followers of fashion. Only since Arsene Wenger turned to Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez and then Petr Čech, have the good times began to roll again.
Liverpool will be ambitious this summer — and it is fair to assume, though slightly speculative, arrivals will come from the German market, which Klopp is familiar with.
Maybe those in charge at Liverpool have realised a different path is necessary where short-term solutions are required, especially when a stadium needs to be filled.
Our collapse has been mainly down to our defence. This can be seen particularly in relation to how our results have compared with Spurs, since Hyypia signed in 1999. Here’s how our season’s points tally compares with Spurs, since 1999. Eg. in 99/00 we got 67 points and Spurs got 53 (+14). The figure in brackets (30 for 99/00) shows how many goals we conceded in that season…
99/00 +14 (30)
00/01 +20 (39)
01/02 +30 (30)
02/03 +14 (41)
03/04 +15 (37)
04/05 +6 (41)
05/06 +17 (25)
06/07 +8 (27)
07/08 +30 (28)
08/09 +35 (27)
Liverpool sell Hyypia, at this point. Skrtel begins to play more games. Our defensive form begins to get worse…
09/10 -7 (35)
10/11 -4 (44)
11/12 -17 (40)
12-13 -11 (43)
Carragher retires at this point and we start shipping even more goals…
13-14 +15 (50)
14-15 -2 (48)
15-16 -11* (34)
In 2013/14, we score 101 goals and it still isn’t enough to win the league as we concede 50. This season, we are on target to concede about 54 goals. That would mean we would probably need to score around 110 goals to win the title and it is highly unlikely that we will ever possess an attack that’s as lethal as what we had in 2013/14 again. That attack (Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling, with the midfield chipping in plenty), would still not get us over the line unless we tightened up at the back.
To get back to Spurs, they have only just started to outperform us defensively. They’ve been bad for years, but finally seem to have got on top of the problem. They’ve conceded just 19 goals so far and are on target to concede only about 30 this season – about 24 less than we are on target to concede.
Carragher and Hyypia stopped roughly an additional 25 goals being shipped, when they were playing together and in their prime.
Last year, Chelsea won the league by 8 points scoring just 73 goals, because they let in just 32. The point I am making is that the loss of a solid defence has been catastrophic for us. Shipping the extra 25-odd goals means we need to score an additional 50-odd goals to compensate, in terms of points scored.
Spurs are a solid side, nothing more. They are currently on target to score only about 70 goals, but that may be enough to make them champions as their defence is so strong. They should qualify for the CL easily, even if the goals dry up a bit for Kane.
Our recruitment needs to start at the back. The best defenders in the world may still be within our reach, if we are prepared to pay top dollar. The best attackers most certainly are not.
Fair comment and I agree but to quote Neil’s current manta ‘we’ve got to be better in both boxes’.
Good point – Spurs just look so big and strong through the spine of their team, whereas even our “Beast” seems to get bullied pretty much every week nowadays.
Liverpool need a new defensive spine (GK, CB, DM) with the physicality and athleticism to match up against the challenges that they’ll face every week in this Premier League, if we are going to be able to play with any flair and without fear. Without a strong foundation to grow from, it will be impossible to build any consistent identity moving forwards.
Loved that Lady in The Van. Great comment.
Sorry to nerd-out the comments, but here are the goals conceded by every Premier League-winning team…
1992/93 – 31
1993/94 – 38
1994/95 – 39
1995/96 – 35
1996/97 – 44
1997/98 – 33
1998/99 – 37
1999/00 – 45
2000/01 – 31
2001/02 – 36
2002/03 – 34
2003/04 – 26
2004/05 – 15
2005/06 – 22
2006/07 – 27
2007/08 – 22
2008/09 – 24
2009/10 – 32
2010/11 – 37
2011/12 – 29
2012/13 – 43
2013/14 – 37
2014/15 – 32
It’s rare for any team to win it, if they concede more than 40. We now concede about 50 in a season, so we effectively give ourselves no chance at all. The average, for league winners, works out at about 35 goals conceded.
To put the importance of a tight defence even further into context, when Chelsea won in 04/05 they conceded 15 goals. They scored just 72 goals themselves, yet won the title by 12 points.
Chelsea’s tally was 95 points. Each goal they scored was worth about 1.32 points. Each goal we scored in 2013/14 was worth just 0.83 points.
Until I looked into this, I agreed with Neil’s opinion (last season) that you just need to buy goals to win titles. Clearly, that is not the case.
We could spend 200 million on 4 attackers. They would still not get us the goals we would need, if we are shipping around 50 a season. On the other hand, we could spend 80 million on the best 2 centre-backs money could buy, pay them the sort of wages that the very best strikers command and be back in the hunt as contenders.
It’s not as exciting as trying to uncover the next Suarez, but this is the issue we need to address first. The very-best defenders appear to be extremely undervalued.
Best sentence in the article “mid table players in a mid table team” that sums us up in a nutshell at the minute.
You may just be onto something here Lady In The Van, we should be able to entice superstar defenders if you pay them the big bucks. That’s why I love this site some of the comments are as incisive as the articles.
I think Shanks followed the build from the back philosophy and wasn’t it a Paisley team that had the meanest defensive record ever ?
Let’s hope Klopp has more funds st his disposal than the free transfer defenders touted so far.
If Liverpool are a team made up of mid-table players in a mid-table position, then we have only to look at the top of the table. A bunch of journeyman performers playing with a bit of sparkle up front.
It doesn’t take much to imagine that a single player can make all the difference.
Coutinho-Suarez-Firmino
Allen-Can-Henderson
Flanno-Sakho-Lovren-Moreno
Now, I don’t expect to unearth another Suarez, but the same group of players instantly become elevated with some stardust up front. That is easily a top 4 team, arguably a challenger for the title.
We have enough squad depth. Put those eggs in the stardust basket.
They can’t challenge for the title, if they ship around 50 goals. Not unless we are going to outscore the best attacking sides in Premier League history, by some margin.
Our 2013/14 team will be remembered as being the one that was really unlucky not to win the league. It’s the players who represented us between 2005/06 and 2008/09 who should feel hard done by though, particularly the defenders.
They shipped just 25, 27, 28 and 27 goals, in those 4 seasons. Throughout Premier League history, that’s usually been enough to win the league comfortably. Sadly for us, this was during a spell of extreme defensive miserliness, at the business end of the table. The league winner conceded just 22, 27, 22 and 24 goals, in that 4 year period and we lost out each time.
Hyypia and Carragher can count themselves as desperately unlucky not to have ended their careers with a few titles under their belts. We would have probably won it in 2013/2014, had JC stayed on for another year.
A bit hard to call because JC was never left as exposed as the defenders in 13/14. But 05/06, we scored 57 goals. That’s 44 less times jumping out of your seat. More than the actual goals, the 13/14 build up play truly was poetry in motion. What a thrill to see players playing with such telepathic understanding, such audacity, such invention, and such fearless abandon. The sheer hubris of it all.
Yes, part of it was Kolo Toure punching the ground like some mythological figure, but there was poetry in that, too. Poetry in Gerrard’s “We Go Again” speech, and poetry in his fall. We could have simply lost the match, but he slipped on a fucking blade of grass!
A large part of the appeal that Klopp has for me is that he is a proper character, containing multitudes, unlike so many in our current squad. I don’t think that’s what Rodgers meant by “character,” but for me as a fan I want something a bit larger than life. Suarez and Gerrard had it in spades.
Meanwhile…In 2012/13, Dortmund came in 2nd while allowing 42 league goals. Also made it to the Champions League final.
I could go for some of that.
Partnerships are hard to form, and when the chemistry happens they are difficult to contain. Instead an anecdote about Toshack and Keegan; after the match the central defender, who had followed Tosh all day, says “I thrashed you today, Tosh!!” To which JT replied “Yes you Syd. But Kevin was MOTM – did you notice??”
And that was one at least of the secrets of S&S:- which one do you watch?
We haven’t even the semblance of a JT/KK or S&S at the moment.
Our goal is unreliable and our supporters much less. Air balls in the area give us chills.
Our midfielders run and produce very little. Many wrong passes and little creativity
And the attackers do not make goals without goalkeeper. They are never in the right place at the right time to make goals.
We will need 4 or 5 great signings!
1) We need at least a good quarterback to save air balls.
2) A midfielder who protect our defenders.
3) A midfielder who is good passes to get out quick to the attack;
4) And a killer striker! That attacker makes goal anyway. But go and do!
A competent keeper solves many of our defensive inadequacies. Patrolling keepers with good distribution are an extra central defender. Reina was a great example, as was Clemence. In Australian football the Adelaide City goalie is another classic example. Seldom wastes a ball, kicks with both feet and throws it out tons players feet. Simon makes delicious saves but rarely, and he is clearly unlikely to learn to be a complete keeper. In the days of Peter Shilton I used to think ‘We still have to get past Shilton’ when we were clear. With Simon as the last man standing I just think ‘Thar’s it – we’re fucked.’
Two issues. Repeated often but will continue until changes happen.
1. Scoring goals, stopping goals.
Niel has been banging this drum but long may he continue. Top four teams are defined by their strikers and their goalies. A top striker and top goalie equals more points, which equals more belief, which equals every other player looking better.
2. “Mid table players in a mid table team”
Just consider our midfield:
Lucas (too slow), Can (too inconsistent), Allen (not dominating enough), Henderson (what’s up with this injury story?), Milner (not good enough), Lallana (ditto)
I like these players. I Love Lucas for so many reasons. I wish Allen had more presence because he’s honest, hard working , etc. etc. Can has potential, and in a team with top players he could fulfil it.
But this is a list of mid-table players. Not one would get into a current top-four side. (Hendo aside in my opinion, but this mystery injury of his is a major concern now.) Would they even get into a top-six side? I don’t think so.
Still, get the striker and goalie sorted out and the likes of Can may well thrive.
I think a big opportunity was missed in January, and now the summer window will define the next two years of our club. *Sigh* Every other club know this, too, and will put a premium on any players when Liverpool come knocking.