Did you know that Liverpool have failed to beat any of the sides in the top half of the Premier League this season?
Of course you did. It is a stat that has been doing the rounds for months and has been trotted out countless times in the last few days following the Reds 5-0 demolition of Norwich. It has led to Brendan Rodgers' side being labelled 'flat-track bullies', capable of seeing off weaker sides but freezing when faced with a higher calibre of opposition or when the going gets tough.
It is a criticism that is hard to argue with. Time and again this season Liverpool have struggled when they have failed to score the opening, or even early, goal. After going a goal down the Reds have looked bereft of ideas and often needed to concede a second goal before finding the freedom to start playing again.
It is a completely different story if Liverpool take an early lead, certainly in the past couple of months. The likes of Fulham, QPR and Sunderland were all swept aside with consummate ease before Norwich suffered a similar fate last Saturday. In each of those games Liverpool took the lead before the half hour mark, often much earlier.
So flat-track bullies it is. But is that really such a bad thing right now? Liverpool are very much a team in transition, a work in progress - put it however you like Rodgers and his players know they can improve significantly and will need to to reach the level expected at a club like Liverpool.
Steady progress is what is necessary and winning the games they are expected to has long been a problem for Liverpool. Even in the 2008-09 season when the Reds came so close to ending their wait for the league title it was slip ups against the likes of West Ham and Hull that ultimately cost them. Both games were at Anfield and the failure to take all three points at home is an issue that has been well documented in the past 12 months in particular.
Something Brendan Rodgers addressed from his very first press conference was his desire turn Anfield into a fortress once more. It is early days but the signs are there that Liverpool may be making progress on that front. They have now won as many league games at Anfield as they did on the whole of last season and the goals they have put past Fulham, Sunderland and Norwich in the last three on home soil will mean sides head to Merseyside with more than a hint of trepidation. The same could not be said during the second half of last season or even earlier on this season.
Already there is an improvement. Liverpool are beating the sides they are supposed to be beating for the first time in a long time and are ensuring that Anfield is slowly becoming a place to be feared again. There will be blips, the Aston Villa game was a stark reminder of how far there still is to go, but with every win this side gains in confidence. It is by building such confidence that the Reds will be able to show greater belief when they fall behind or fail to find an early break through. It should go some way to making sure the deer in the headlights type displays early on at White Hart Lane and Old Trafford are not repeated.
Of course, these things won't happen overnight and it is highly unrealistic for anyone to expect that they will but recent wins and the manner in which they have been achieved do show progress. That is what Liverpool fans should focus on rather than any, often irrelevant, statistics that happen to be popularised by the media. As for flat-track bullies, it is a criticism that was often aimed at Cristiano Ronaldo in his time at Manchester United. You often find these labels can disappear pretty quickly.
Liverpool have two opportunities to make that happen straight away with league games away at Arsenal and Manchester City in the next 10 days. First up though is the trip to Oldham in the FA Cup 4th Round this weekend, Liverpool fans will hope the 'flat-track bullies' show up again.
Of course you did. It is a stat that has been doing the rounds for months and has been trotted out countless times in the last few days following the Reds 5-0 demolition of Norwich. It has led to Brendan Rodgers' side being labelled 'flat-track bullies', capable of seeing off weaker sides but freezing when faced with a higher calibre of opposition or when the going gets tough.
It is a criticism that is hard to argue with. Time and again this season Liverpool have struggled when they have failed to score the opening, or even early, goal. After going a goal down the Reds have looked bereft of ideas and often needed to concede a second goal before finding the freedom to start playing again.
It is a completely different story if Liverpool take an early lead, certainly in the past couple of months. The likes of Fulham, QPR and Sunderland were all swept aside with consummate ease before Norwich suffered a similar fate last Saturday. In each of those games Liverpool took the lead before the half hour mark, often much earlier.
So flat-track bullies it is. But is that really such a bad thing right now? Liverpool are very much a team in transition, a work in progress - put it however you like Rodgers and his players know they can improve significantly and will need to to reach the level expected at a club like Liverpool.
Steady progress is what is necessary and winning the games they are expected to has long been a problem for Liverpool. Even in the 2008-09 season when the Reds came so close to ending their wait for the league title it was slip ups against the likes of West Ham and Hull that ultimately cost them. Both games were at Anfield and the failure to take all three points at home is an issue that has been well documented in the past 12 months in particular.
Something Brendan Rodgers addressed from his very first press conference was his desire turn Anfield into a fortress once more. It is early days but the signs are there that Liverpool may be making progress on that front. They have now won as many league games at Anfield as they did on the whole of last season and the goals they have put past Fulham, Sunderland and Norwich in the last three on home soil will mean sides head to Merseyside with more than a hint of trepidation. The same could not be said during the second half of last season or even earlier on this season.
Already there is an improvement. Liverpool are beating the sides they are supposed to be beating for the first time in a long time and are ensuring that Anfield is slowly becoming a place to be feared again. There will be blips, the Aston Villa game was a stark reminder of how far there still is to go, but with every win this side gains in confidence. It is by building such confidence that the Reds will be able to show greater belief when they fall behind or fail to find an early break through. It should go some way to making sure the deer in the headlights type displays early on at White Hart Lane and Old Trafford are not repeated.
Of course, these things won't happen overnight and it is highly unrealistic for anyone to expect that they will but recent wins and the manner in which they have been achieved do show progress. That is what Liverpool fans should focus on rather than any, often irrelevant, statistics that happen to be popularised by the media. As for flat-track bullies, it is a criticism that was often aimed at Cristiano Ronaldo in his time at Manchester United. You often find these labels can disappear pretty quickly.
Liverpool have two opportunities to make that happen straight away with league games away at Arsenal and Manchester City in the next 10 days. First up though is the trip to Oldham in the FA Cup 4th Round this weekend, Liverpool fans will hope the 'flat-track bullies' show up again.
Liverpool News 24/7
0 comments:
Post a Comment