Liverpool’s reluctance is catching up with them
Monday 12th September by Tom Ball
Liverpool's shaky start to the season was compounded on Tuesday night as Napoli cut through the Reds' defence time and time again to beat them 4-1. While Liverpool are used to losing in Naples in recent years, their defeat's manner left their fanbase concerned.
Jurgen Klopp stated that the Reds might need to 'reinvent' themselves to discover a bit of form. Despite Chelsea and Manchester United's inconsistent start, Liverpool is still the most out-of-form side in the big six. Their iconic and electric style of play is no longer working, and a rebuild of their approach may have to be the case to solidify a place in the top four fight. However, their ability to compete for the title is slim due to their stubborn squad replenishment.
One thing Liverpool have is the minerals. They have been far ahead of any other side in the league except Manchester City for four years now. Being light in certain areas may stunt another 60-game, title-challenging season, but it should not stop them from falling too far behind.
There is a trust in Jurgen Klopp and the squad's core that they can turn this around. Liverpool's form is not a club culture issue, and it is not beyond fixing. However, this could be as bad as it has ever been under Klopp if the problems are not addressed.
The lack of activity in the transfer market after the big money move for Darwin Nunez was Liverpool fans' central pillar of frustration. When they lose out on the Premier League title by the solitary point for the second time in four years to big-spending Manchester City, the fans want to see a push to overcome those margins. Despite not securing either the Premier League or the Champions League, last season was exceptional for Liverpool. They achieved the extraordinarily rare fete or playing every game possible in a season; the unwillingness to immediately build upon that has seen them regress quite dramatically.
The Deadline Day signing of Arthur Melo from Juventus strengthened Klopp's fragile and injury-prone midfield options. Melo brings an inferior but similar technical and creative prowess to Thiago, a player who proved essential to Liverpool last season.
It is hard to gauge whether an underwhelming player from Juventus is a victim of Juve's shocking recruitment strategy or just not up to it. There is no hiding that a more proactive and earlier pursuit of a midfielder would have widened Liverpool's options. However, a likely expensive approach for Jude Bellingham next summer perhaps meant that Fenway needed to see issues first-hand to sanction any more incomings.
In July 2021, we included Liverpool in an audit of the title contenders heading into last season. Our section on Liverpool mentioned the departure of midfielder Gini Wijnaldum that summer:
"Many have looked to the return of Virgil Van Dijk as the most significant positive they could take out of this season. On the other hand, many understate the importance his fellow Dutchman had in midfield. Over the last three seasons, Wijnaldum has led all Liverpool midfielders in appearances and by quite a lot. He was outrageously consistent and rarely ever picked up a knock. His energetic runs into the penalty area are something neither Thiago Alcantara nor Jordan Henderson can provide in the same volume,… On the other hand, recent reports of a £100 million offer made to Juventus for Frederico Chiesa, subverts this idea that they are unwilling to spend. Perhaps it comes from an expectance that either Mohammed Salah or Sadio Mane will be departing Merseyside in a years time."
While Liverpool ended up being their breathtaking selves last season, it seems as if the lack of recruitment in midfield and the ageing careers of James Milner and Jordan Henderson has caught up with them this season. Not mentioned in the piece, Gini Wijnaldum was incredibly press-resistant and was the ablest to assist Fabinho in breaking down opposition counterattacks. While Liverpool's infamous offside trap has been failing this season and Trent Alexander-Arnold seems less motivated to defend than ever before, these issues are exasperated by how easy it is to bypass Klopp's midfield at the moment. Liverpool's most recent league game, the Merseyside Derby, saw Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott play either side of Fabinho. This is a combination of mis-profiling Carvalho and Elliott and the lack of balanced depth the Reds have in that area of the team. Jordan Henderson and James Milner's age seems to be catching up with them, making them less valuable assets, while Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara cannot stay fit.
A year ago, the back end of our piece also mentioned the possibility of either Sadio Mane or Mohammed Salah leaving. Many have looked to Liverpool's poor start to the season, off the back of losing Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, and tried to put two and two together. Liverpool are not struggling in attack, they have the most shots, hit the woodwork the most times, have the most crosses, and have the second most passes. Furthermore, Mo Salah has created the most chances of any player in the league this season, four more than second-place Kevin De Bruyne, but Salah only has two assists.
The introduction of striker Darwin Nunez has given Liverpool a new dynamic. The Uruguayan's petulant red card against Crystal Palace kept him out of half of the Reds' games.
The issue is not the departure of Sadio Mane; the reluctance to recruit a central midfielder, perhaps in the hope of landing Jude Bellingham next summer, has seen them begin to feel the effects of losing Gini Wijnaldum. Moreover, their reliance on Thiago Alcantara is not ideal, considering the Spaniard's injury record.
Last season, Liverpool dropped just 9 points in the 26 league games Thiago played. In the 12 games, he did not play; they dropped 13 points.
In Liverpool's title-winning season in 2019/20, they dropped just 5 points in the 31 games Jordan Henderson played. They dropped 7 points in the seven games he did not play in.
Apart from a season in which the entirety of Jurgen Klopp's centre-back depth was injured, Liverpool's rare dips in form have run parallel with the loss of significant personnel in their midfield. Gini Wijanldum's incredible versatility, vast skillset, and an average of almost 3,000 league minutes per season under Klopp gave Liverpool stability and reliability in the middle of the pitch.
Thiago's respectable availability and superior form of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson allowed them to maintain an exceptionally high-level last season. On the other hand, the lack of proactiveness in reinforcing their midfield options has caught up with them, a lack of proactiveness not associated with Liverpool in recent years.
It remains to be seen whether Arthur Melo is a solution for Liverpool. Circumstances surrounding the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II mixed with the imminent international break have heavily disrupted a Premier League season with a small thing called a World Cup in the middle of it.
Players will be travelling further, playing in more climates and playing even more games than ever. With Liverpool coming so close to an unprecedented Quadruple in a 63-game season last season, can their durability and mentality hold out for another run? Their start leaves a lot to be desired.