A lack of a spine, both structurally and mentally, continues to cost Liverpool and nothing will be achieved until it is addressed.
After Sevilla’s first goal last Tuesday, there was no part of me that thought “okay, let’s shut up shop and see this one out. My only thought was one of impending dread. The same can be said of the game with Cheslea on Saturday.
The phrase “we always do it the hard way” is one that gets banded around a lot by Reds fans. Harking back to the Champions League final of 2005 and FA Cup of 2006, but no longer do we have ‘Captain Fantastic’ Steven Gerrard heroically rallying the troops, nor is there a Jamie Carragher to organise and steady the ship, a Dietmar Hamann to come on and solidify the midfield, a Pepe Reina or Jerzey Dudek to be penalty shootout heroes. The current crop of players do not do it the hard way like teams of the past. When the going gets tough, Liverpool don’t get going, they wilt.
We’ve seen it in the League Cup semi-final of 2017, Europa League final and League Cup final of 2016. When it is time to stand up and be counted, our players forget their timetables.
Some may say Jurgen Klopp is the problem, but these same issues occurred under his predecessor Brendan Rodgers. The League Cup and FA Cup semi finals of 2015 and the Europa league last 32 penalty shootout are all evidence of this.
So what is the problem?
We lack leaders.
It was rumoured Carlo Ancelotti was interviewed for the Liverpool post the same time Jurgen was, and that he supposedly discussed the need for a new spine to the team.
In Klopp’s time at Liverpool, Simon Mignolet, Dejan Lovren and Jordan Henderson, barring injury, have been ever presents. The very spine Ancelotti allegedly discussed needed replacing. This is not due to want of trying from the German. If it was up to Klopp, Virgil Van Dijk and Naby Keita would plying their trade on Merseyside but the lack of recruiting appropriate replacements is something which must rest on the shoulders of the manager.
I for one, have always been a fan of Henderson. He steadies the ship, keeps things ticking over while enabling others to supply the flair but his stats against Sevilla did not make for pleasant reading.
No successful tackles made all game, fewer successful passes than Loris Karius, in the fifteen minutes after halftime that Sevilla scored two of their three goals, Henderson touched the ball twice. For someone tasked with the role of midfield general, this is wince-worthy.
I like Jordan, he seems a nice, well intentioned lad. The question is, is he a leader of men, is he someone you could one day see lifting the Premier League trophy? For me, sadly he is not.
What is to be done?
With Adam Lallana back, Dom Solanke, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Daniel Sturridge chomping at the bit, not to mention James Milner, the untested Marko Grujic and forgotten man Andrew Robertson, we do have options, all is not lost.
We still top our group in the Champions League. We are still in and around the top four and there is still the FA Cup to come, but if we are to achieve anything this season surgery is required. The spine needs repairing. January beckons.
