Liverpool have been told they have “some real problems” by club legend Robbie Fowler.
The Reds have had an indifferent start to the season, both domestically and in Europe. In the Premier League, Liverpool have amassed just nine points from their first six fixtures.
In the Champions League, Jurgen Klopp’s side were beaten 4-1 away to Napoli in their first group match of the campaign. They are next due to be in action at home to Ajax on Tuesday night.
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Given Liverpool’s start to the season, Fowler has addressed some of the possible factors that may be the cause. The former Reds striker went on to outline what he thinks needs to be done to fix any issues that need addressing.
“It looks like Liverpool have some real problems, there’s no doubt about that, and no hiding from it either,” Fowler wrote in his column for The Mirror.
“They were a few minutes away from the title, until Villa collapsed at the Etihad. They were by far the better team in the Champions League final, against a Real Madrid side who were clearly fearful of Liverpool, and astonished that they had won. Now, seven games into a new season they’re finished as a force? It doesn’t happen like that. Great teams do decline, but it’s over years, not days.
“So you have to look at other issues, and the chief amongst them is injuries. I’m not saying having four midfielders injured is an excuse, I’m saying Liverpool made an error in not planning for those injuries. They made the big mistake of thinking numbers meant quality, but that’s not always the case when you look at the profile of those making up the numbers. Jurgen Klopp said nine was enough in his midfield and it was last season.
“But was it this time when you have players in Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Thiago with a history of injuries, and then Jordan Henderson and James Milner who have suffered fairly regular muscle injuries over the past couple of years? That leaves them with three kids and Fabinho for his midfield, which isn’t enough. All three kids are good players, but they’re not yet elite players.
“I’d also say that applies to Darwin Nunez too, who is still young, and still developing, so it’s unfair to say he has to be an instant replacement for Sadio Mane. But that still doesn’t explain the total lack of structure against Napoli, of shape and discipline. I’ve never seen a Klopp team that was so open, that wasn’t compact in any way in the defensive transition.
“This may sound so simple that it seems I’m just talking nonsense, but the whole idea of staying as compact as possible in defence is one of the principles of play, it is one of the fundamental building blocks of football. If you don’t have it, you don’t win. What’s the opposite of compact? Whatever it is, that’s what Liverpool have been so often this season. Why? Well it seemed as though Klopp didn’t know on Wednesday.
“But the clue seems to be in their running stats. Less distance covered than every opponent so far this season, less intense runs, less sprints. Why? It’s not that they suddenly can’t run, that’s far too simplistic. Maybe Klopp has decided to try and control games, run less to see them through a ridiculous season with a World Cup in the middle. But that isn’t working because he doesn’t have his midfield controllers in Thiago, Naby Keita and Curtis Jones.
Fowler added: “Maybe it’s even simpler than that. Maybe it’s the shortened summer and the training periods they had after a long season. Perhaps they tried to do too much fitness in too short a space of time, or even not enough. That would explain the injuries either way.
“It could also explain the lack of intensity, which then leads to a load of other small problems, which all came home to roost in Naples. The good news though, that’s a temporary problem.
“With players back he can rotate, get in fresher legs, rest older players and the injury prone, take younger players out to allow them to develop at a better pace, allow Nunez the chance to settle properly into the team, and most importantly, rediscover their shape and intensity.
“As I say. Simple! What is actually simple though, is when these bad moments come, you ensure you’re hard to beat. Liverpool haven’t been that, and Klopp now has to deliver that as a minimum by going back to his basics.”
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