KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Why are we conceding so many goals?

I think the problem is that there are so many contributing factors that make the defensive struggles so complex that they then all appear to over-complicate what it is really a very simple problem...

We've always been and had perfected a balanced team which was able to counter-press from the front-line, had midfield that was sufficiently workmanlike and able to both step forward and back into half-spaces vacated by players in both attack and defence and played a high-line which worked in tandem.

Concentrating solely on what we're doing / not doing now, then our front-line isn't as effective at counter-pressing, our midfield has lost a yard of sharpness which means they're late covering the half spaces, we've had players step in that haven't learnt the roles sufficiently, and our high-line is playing deeper which is drawing in the opposition to attack more.

I agree, we've been missing one key midfielder in almost every game and so when you play a Harvey for example, you know he doesn't cover the same spaces as Henderson. What should happen is the players adapt but they seem unable / unwilling to. Harvey needs to drop to cover TAA when he drives on, Trent needs to know to stay deeper when Harvey pushes on, Salah needs to do more.

The other problem for me, which I take umbridge with when its brought up by fans... we DO have more than enough quality on the pitch. I refuse to accept that all these midfielders have dropped off a cliff edge. They are MORE than capable. I want to see players learning to adapt their games to each other, I don't care whether you're on 300k or 50k a week, they need to play more as a team and at the moment, its very easy to read the misalignment of players.

I don't feel the need to speculate what Conte would change or whether to play defensively. As much as this is a results business, there is also a team style / dynamic that I wouldn't agree with altering just to mitigate short-term issues. And I guess this is where you need to play a long, medium and short term strategy to the team and thats maybe where the confusion stems from.

There is no doubt Harvey has developed hugely from playing, similarly Carvalho to a lesser degree, and more so with Darwin. I guess Klopp would want to see them do the basics of the system right before he's happier to tinker, but in the absence of them being on top form, he's having to do that more now. I would love to see Diaz and Salah switching more, and I don't believe that isn't part of the plan. I think the whole development of this team is about being versatile AND unpredictable. I just think we're stuck in a rut - some self-inflicted, some luck.

I'm not sure trying as much as he wants will bring no change is something I buy into to be honest. I get that the team isn't doing well currently but there's a point where you have to let people have the opportunity to develop and improve. I'd also argue he's far better defensively than most of our front-line so I don't buy into the point either.

He's a different player to Henderson and therefore will play in that role differently to how Henderson usually would. I don't feel the need to talk about Elliott's defensive ability because individually he's not done anything to cost the team because of a lack of physicality.

As a team, it's every players responsibility at all times to sense danger, and opportunities. They should be thinking about danger even when they attack, and vice versa.

Elliott is able to cover space which TAA vacates when he drives through the RWB and RM spaces and leaves space at RB. Similarly, Fabinho is more than capable of dropping into CB when Matip/Konate is drawn to cover that space at RB. Elliott is also more than capable moving into the position of DM and trying to shield the CB's from attacks when Fabinho goes to cover the RB space directly. Every player is not doing all the things that used to be second nature. Regardless of successfully tackling a player as they attack, being ideally suited to all those positions, it is about the system, and the attributes, not that we ever ask Matip to play RB or Elliott to play DM. They aren't actually covering the spaces or the positions they should be, and to compound things they're playing at 65%. It's why the issue appears so big, and yet is so easy to fix on paper. The issue is if the sharpness is because of deflatedness from last year then its emotional / mental tiredness and that isn't so quick to fix unless they start to get the right breaks of the ball.

Take Sunday. Arsenal scored a goal that looked offside which wasn't checked by VAR correctly. Arsenal got a soft penalty which 80% of the time wouldn't have been given. Liverpool didn't get a penalty they would have 80% of the time. Regardless of playing badly, those going the other (right) way would've cause a different game and may have been better for us. The lines of victory / defeat have been marginal for a while. Last season we got the breaks, this season we generally haven't.