With the Reds struggling at home with only 2 wins from 6, our columnist Robert Nevitt assesses what is going wrong with our performances at Anfield.
As the saying goes, “There’s a fine line between success and failure”.
If John Ruddy hadn’t had the game of his life when Norwich came to Anfield, we’d have won comfortably. If Andy Carroll had hit his shot 6 inches lower against Swansea on Saturday, surely the floodgates would have opened. We would then be sitting in 4th place, on the back of 3 straight league wins, 4 victories if you count the Carling Cup win over Stoke City.
But, and here’s where the fine line comes into play, we’re not. Against the Canaries, Ruddy was sensational, making save after save. Combined with the profligacy of Luis Suarez and a Pepe Reina rush of blood to the head, we allowed Norwich to come back and earn themselves a point. Against Brendan Rodgers’ side, Carroll justified the away fans chants of “what a waste of money” by crashing his harder-to-miss six-yard effort against the bar. We subsequently struggled, allowing Swansea’s diddymen, Allen, Gower and Britton, to control the game and if truth be told, we were lucky to escape with a point.
The result is that instead of sitting fourth on 23 points, we lie in sixth on 19. Above us are Alan Pardew’s surprise package Newcastle, Spurs (who also have a game in hand) and Chelsea, who we visit next. Also breathing down our necks is a Robin Van Persie-inspired Arsenal, who seem to have recovered from their shocking start to the season. What could have been a relatively good start to the season, is slowly turning into a mediocre one.
So where is it going wrong?
Despite the league defeat at Stoke, where we should have got at least a point, and the 9-man capitulation at White Hart Lane, solid 2-0 successes at Arsenal, Everton and more recently West Brom mean our away form is actually quite good. This is backed up by the fact that our entire Carling Cup run has been played on the road, with trips to Exeter City, Brighton and Stoke again, all safely negotiated. It is at Anfield where the problems are occurring. The two draws against the promoted sides came on the back of sharing of the spoils against Man United and Sunderland. Only Bolton and Wolves have left Anfield empty-handed so far this season.
Whilst collectively a home record of 2 wins from 6 looks poor, assessing each game individually shows that even if the result didn’t go as planned, there were still positives to be taken. On the opening day against Sunderland, the first 45 minutes saw the new-look Reds knock the ball about confidently. The visiting keeper should have been sent-off early in the game, Suarez missed a penalty and Stewart Downing hit the bar. We deserved to have been more than a goal up at half-time. But, after the break, mainly down to fitness issues, we didn’t reach the same level of performance, allowing Sunderland to grab a point through Sebastian Larsson’s fantastic volley.
When our rivals from the other side of the East Lancs road visited, despite a tentative first-half where we showed United too much respect, the second-half saw us boss the game and take a deserved lead. Even when Javier Hernandez equalised, we were the team who looked most likely victors with Jordan Henderson twice going close.
As already mentioned, we threw everything but the kitchen sink at Norwich, but only found the net once through Craig Bellamy. A 15-minute dip midway through the second-half resulted in a Grant Holt to equalise, meaning once again we had to settle for a point. Against Swansea, even though our overall performance level dropped, Carroll missed his glorious chance and Swans keeper Michel Vorm was arguably man of the match following his heroics to deny Suarez, Glen Johnson and others. In fact, our worst home performance of the season was against Wolves, where we got 2-0 up then sat back, conceded and ultimately had to hang on for victory.
Of course, you can’t always put poor results down to bad luck or refereeing decisions, so what needs to change in order for us to start winning at home?
Well, not a great deal in my view.
In the past we were often criticised for not creating chances, for not making the opposition goalkeeper earn his wage. That is something which can’t be levelled at us so far this season. Already we’ve hit the woodwork on no fewer than 11 occasions. Against Norwich, Suarez alone had 11 unsuccessful attempts, whilst the Swansea game saw 25 efforts at the visiting goal. The recurring theme is not that we need more creativity, but that we need to be more clinical. On TV and in the press, the finger of blame has been mainly pointed at Suarez, but the truth of the matter is he is the one missing most of our chances because he is our main attacking threat. The likes of Carroll, Dirk Kuyt, Henderson and Stewart Downing all need to start threatening too to help share the burden.
Tactically, I’ve heard some fans call for a change to how we set-up. A switch to 4-3-3 has been mooted, or to add an extra holding midfielder, thus giving protection to the attack-minded Charlie Adam. Personally, I don’t agree. Defensively I think we are OK, especially when the calming presence of Daniel Agger is in the team. I realise Swansea was the first time we have kept a clean sheet at home, but if we want to be more attacking, then more gaps are going to appear at the back. As an attacking unit, I think our current set-up of 4-4-2 is the way to go. For me, Adam has been impressive alongside Lucas, displaying an ability to carry the ball as well as his excellent range of passing. With our right sided midfielder, be it Henderson or Kuyt, tucking in to help the midfield duo, Johnson or Kelly have been able to get forward from right back, whilst on the other side, Jose Enrique has settled in brilliantly.
In front of Enrique is where I feel the key position in our current formation lies. Stewart Downing was bought to stay wide and provide the ammunition for our front two, particularly Carroll. After looking the real deal at the start of the season, Downing’s form has dipped. He is still steady, he provided the cross from which Carroll hit the bar on Saturday, but I feel he doesn’t take the game by the scruff of the neck enough. With Bellamy itching to get in on the action, I feel it may be time to give the Welshman a run on the left, especially for home games.
Whilst I don’t think it is time to hit the panic button quite yet, I do think it is imperative that we start to see an improvement in our results at Anfield. A team’s home record often defines their season’s achievements. Last season, champions Man United won an amazing 18 out of 19 games at home. That’s 54 points amassed, only 4 points less than our total last season. The more success a team has at home, the harder it becomes for visiting teams. Going back to United, part of the reason their home record is so good is the fact that teams turn up at Old Trafford already beaten. On the other hand, when a team visits Anfield, they believe they can take something from the game.
If John Ruddy hadn’t had the game of his life when Norwich came to Anfield, we’d have won comfortably. If Andy Carroll had hit his shot 6 inches lower against Swansea on Saturday, surely the floodgates would have opened. We would then be sitting in 4th place, on the back of 3 straight league wins, 4 victories if you count the Carling Cup win over Stoke City.
But, and here’s where the fine line comes into play, we’re not. Against the Canaries, Ruddy was sensational, making save after save. Combined with the profligacy of Luis Suarez and a Pepe Reina rush of blood to the head, we allowed Norwich to come back and earn themselves a point. Against Brendan Rodgers’ side, Carroll justified the away fans chants of “what a waste of money” by crashing his harder-to-miss six-yard effort against the bar. We subsequently struggled, allowing Swansea’s diddymen, Allen, Gower and Britton, to control the game and if truth be told, we were lucky to escape with a point.
The result is that instead of sitting fourth on 23 points, we lie in sixth on 19. Above us are Alan Pardew’s surprise package Newcastle, Spurs (who also have a game in hand) and Chelsea, who we visit next. Also breathing down our necks is a Robin Van Persie-inspired Arsenal, who seem to have recovered from their shocking start to the season. What could have been a relatively good start to the season, is slowly turning into a mediocre one.
So where is it going wrong?
Despite the league defeat at Stoke, where we should have got at least a point, and the 9-man capitulation at White Hart Lane, solid 2-0 successes at Arsenal, Everton and more recently West Brom mean our away form is actually quite good. This is backed up by the fact that our entire Carling Cup run has been played on the road, with trips to Exeter City, Brighton and Stoke again, all safely negotiated. It is at Anfield where the problems are occurring. The two draws against the promoted sides came on the back of sharing of the spoils against Man United and Sunderland. Only Bolton and Wolves have left Anfield empty-handed so far this season.
Whilst collectively a home record of 2 wins from 6 looks poor, assessing each game individually shows that even if the result didn’t go as planned, there were still positives to be taken. On the opening day against Sunderland, the first 45 minutes saw the new-look Reds knock the ball about confidently. The visiting keeper should have been sent-off early in the game, Suarez missed a penalty and Stewart Downing hit the bar. We deserved to have been more than a goal up at half-time. But, after the break, mainly down to fitness issues, we didn’t reach the same level of performance, allowing Sunderland to grab a point through Sebastian Larsson’s fantastic volley.
When our rivals from the other side of the East Lancs road visited, despite a tentative first-half where we showed United too much respect, the second-half saw us boss the game and take a deserved lead. Even when Javier Hernandez equalised, we were the team who looked most likely victors with Jordan Henderson twice going close.
As already mentioned, we threw everything but the kitchen sink at Norwich, but only found the net once through Craig Bellamy. A 15-minute dip midway through the second-half resulted in a Grant Holt to equalise, meaning once again we had to settle for a point. Against Swansea, even though our overall performance level dropped, Carroll missed his glorious chance and Swans keeper Michel Vorm was arguably man of the match following his heroics to deny Suarez, Glen Johnson and others. In fact, our worst home performance of the season was against Wolves, where we got 2-0 up then sat back, conceded and ultimately had to hang on for victory.
Of course, you can’t always put poor results down to bad luck or refereeing decisions, so what needs to change in order for us to start winning at home?
Well, not a great deal in my view.
In the past we were often criticised for not creating chances, for not making the opposition goalkeeper earn his wage. That is something which can’t be levelled at us so far this season. Already we’ve hit the woodwork on no fewer than 11 occasions. Against Norwich, Suarez alone had 11 unsuccessful attempts, whilst the Swansea game saw 25 efforts at the visiting goal. The recurring theme is not that we need more creativity, but that we need to be more clinical. On TV and in the press, the finger of blame has been mainly pointed at Suarez, but the truth of the matter is he is the one missing most of our chances because he is our main attacking threat. The likes of Carroll, Dirk Kuyt, Henderson and Stewart Downing all need to start threatening too to help share the burden.
Tactically, I’ve heard some fans call for a change to how we set-up. A switch to 4-3-3 has been mooted, or to add an extra holding midfielder, thus giving protection to the attack-minded Charlie Adam. Personally, I don’t agree. Defensively I think we are OK, especially when the calming presence of Daniel Agger is in the team. I realise Swansea was the first time we have kept a clean sheet at home, but if we want to be more attacking, then more gaps are going to appear at the back. As an attacking unit, I think our current set-up of 4-4-2 is the way to go. For me, Adam has been impressive alongside Lucas, displaying an ability to carry the ball as well as his excellent range of passing. With our right sided midfielder, be it Henderson or Kuyt, tucking in to help the midfield duo, Johnson or Kelly have been able to get forward from right back, whilst on the other side, Jose Enrique has settled in brilliantly.
In front of Enrique is where I feel the key position in our current formation lies. Stewart Downing was bought to stay wide and provide the ammunition for our front two, particularly Carroll. After looking the real deal at the start of the season, Downing’s form has dipped. He is still steady, he provided the cross from which Carroll hit the bar on Saturday, but I feel he doesn’t take the game by the scruff of the neck enough. With Bellamy itching to get in on the action, I feel it may be time to give the Welshman a run on the left, especially for home games.
Whilst I don’t think it is time to hit the panic button quite yet, I do think it is imperative that we start to see an improvement in our results at Anfield. A team’s home record often defines their season’s achievements. Last season, champions Man United won an amazing 18 out of 19 games at home. That’s 54 points amassed, only 4 points less than our total last season. The more success a team has at home, the harder it becomes for visiting teams. Going back to United, part of the reason their home record is so good is the fact that teams turn up at Old Trafford already beaten. On the other hand, when a team visits Anfield, they believe they can take something from the game.
So in conclusion, don’t panic. It’s still early days for Kenny’s new-look reds. With a bit more clinical finishing in front of goal and a few tweaks of personnel, we will be fine. We aren’t that far away. After all, there’s only a fine line between success and failure.
Liverpool News 24/7
Good article. Finally a good insight of our main tactical problems, as the article tries to avoid the same old & usual negativity, keeping up the positives.
ReplyDeleteEveryone can see the problems, but The Club, The Manager and the Lads need to fell the love of the Fans.
Well done :D