Andy Gray believes an ageing squad unable to press effectively is they key to Liverpool’s early-season problems.
The Reds have endured a slow start to the Premier League campaign, with two wins from their opening seven matches leaving them 13 points short of Manchester City at the top. Problems across the pitch have been cause for concern, particularly in midfield, where a severe drop in pressing has allowed opposition playmakers the time to exploit Liverpool's high-line.
Such problems have called into question the reluctance of the club to act in the summer window, with the likes of Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and James Milner all over 30, while Fabinho turns 29 later this month. And former Everton and Scotland striker Gray believes that ageing nucleus - and the inevitable drop in physicality that comes with that - is proving detrimental to Jurgen Klopp's aggressive pressing system.
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“The side that played Brighton last week, I looked at that this morning, eight of the players were 30 or over. Eight,” Gray told beIN Sports. “I compared that with the Arsenal team that played last time out against Tottenham, eight were 25 and under.
“The reason that age is important, as far as Liverpool are concerned… Liverpool have been brilliant because they have blown us away with that high octane football, on the front foot press, press, press, Playing a high tempo all the time. That takes a lot and it takes a young team.
“If you've got eight in your team who are 30 or over, you cannot play like that. You certainly can sporadically, but you cannot over a 38-game Premier League season.
“They’ve got younger players, you think [Diogo] Jota who has not played enough games, they've introduced [Fabio] Carvalho to us in the last two or three weeks, another young player. They've dropped in younger players - [Darwin] Nunez is of a decent age so he’s okay but has hardly played, so it's important he gets a good run of games.
“But the important areas of the pitch, I looked at that midfield: Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, I think the youngest is 31 (sic), that's a big area of the football pitch where energy is so key. So is talent, but you need the legs to get around that midfield area, particularly if you play for Jurgen Klopp.”
It is important to note that the above statement isn't exactly correct, with Brazilian midfielder Fabinho currently 28.
Harvey Elliott has been able to provide the necessary energy when in midfield, but a move to a 4-2-3-1 - firstly for Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League win over Rangers and again for the trip to Arsenal - has seen the 19-year-old unable to nail down a starting role. Similarly, injuries to the likes of Jota and a natural settling in period for Nunez and Carvalho have limited their respective minutes.
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