Over Brendan Rodgers’ tenure as Liverpool manager, many have doubted his managerial quality, with many more doubting his expertise in the transfer market. For every Philippe Coutinho, there has been an Iago Aspas or a Mario Balotelli. For every triumph in his transfer dealings, there has been an unrivalled disaster. And for every Mamadou Sakho there has been a Dejan Lovren. Yet, unlike the new signings that were made and quickly discarded, these two players have lingered in the mind and on the pitch in a fashion that is very unusual in a Brendan Rodgers purchase.
Sakho, the French international born in Paris, was brought in for a fee of £18m to somewhat muted fanfare given his stature as PSG’s former captain and has carried his form somewhere between the sublime and the injury table. Blessed with a capability on the ball unlike many other defenders, Rodgers could be mistaken for thinking he was the Parisian Daniel Agger, who was also a ball-playing defender with an affinity with the treatment room. Something which may prove important when arguing the case for Sakho’s inclusion, or lack thereof, in the Liverpool team.
In stark contrast, Dejan Lovren is a Croatian defender who arrived in a fashion not dissimilar to that of a saviour and a hero. Judged to be the final piece of the defensive jigsaw that Liverpool needed to become genuine, solid contenders, Lovren quickly became a scapegoat for a terrible season. Not completely unwarranted, but his price-tag and constant poor form led to his career being written off early and calls for him to be shipped out of Anfield in their droves. It is fair to say that Lovren may not have warranted a place in the team in the future, near or far.
Yet, during the pre-season schedule, when players are tried and formations are tested, it was the latter of the two defenders who was given the vote of confidence, the dog-like not the dogged, and we saw the fume exit the mouths of countless Liverpool fans far and wide. And I, too, must admit that I didn’t really see where Rodgers was getting his ideas from. Sakho, although unnatural in his approach, was clearly the better defender and with a season opener against Stoke looming, all I wanted was a solid defence. What was Rodgers going for, I wondered? And then it struck me. It was a trust issue. Plain and simple.
Through the good and the bad, the exciting and the excruciating, Rodgers has always said that he wanted players around him he can trust. Joe Allen’s inclusion was down to the fact, mostly, that Rodgers knew he could trust him, that he knew what he would bring. That’s very much the same with Henderson and you can only imagine it’s why he brought in Milner and Clyne. As a manager, you need to know what you’re going to get when you field a team. The more players you can choose who you know you can trust, the more chance your players will execute your plans. I think you can see that feeling with Lallana, Rodgers wants to trust him, wants him to play. His cleverness of mind and foot are things Rodgers approves of, he just needs to start producing a little more than he has. This brings me on nicely to Lovren and Sakho.
Last season, the last game, Liverpool are playing Stoke City. Liverpool aren’t actually doing much playing, they’re more being battered than anything. Early on, Liverpool have conceded three and player’s heads have dropped a little, yet Sakho’s performance was concerning. Lacklustre was one word that could be used, but I prefer straight talking, so I’ll call it shite. Good, plain crap. In a game that means nothing, you often find out who cares and who couldn’t care less. And how can you trust a player to perform constantly if they aren’t performing in every game. Even the naff, end of season ones?
Enter Dejan Lovren. Yeah, OK, I know what you’ll say, “but it’s not exactly like Lovren played well last year” – and you would be right in saying this, but I will never, ever agree with you if you say he never once tried. I saw him trying an awful lot, maybe too much. He was trying to atone for errors he made, others made and was trying to be the hero. When you aren’t doing the basics right, you shouldn’t be covering for other people. That is a basic in itself. When you’re being crap, don’t try and be the hero.
Yet, I think this trust issue with Sakho and Lovren goes deeper than mere performances. I think it’s majorly injury based.
Sakho is always injured. From what I remember, Lovren isn’t. This is a problem when trying to build a defence and makes it markedly easier when trying to build the defence for picking Lovren.
Like Agger before him, Sakho, I feel, was Rodgers’ first choice. He can pick a pass, he can recover remarkably well for a big man and he has a trick up his sleeve. He is genuinely one of my favourite defenders. But also like Agger, it was increasingly difficult to build your back five around him because we never knew whether he would be there or not week-on-week. Rodgers could never trust him to be fit. And how did this end for Agger? He was allowed to leave with very little fuss made.
I’m not entirely sure Rodgers wants to go that far, as I think there is a general respect between Rodgers and Sakho that the defender is the club’s best asset in the back four. But I do think this issue has led to Rodgers allowing Lovren his chance to gain fitness, form and to push Liverpool ‘s defence in a more solid direction. And if he plays like he did last week, the left centre-back position could be Lovren’s to lose.
A lot is made of Sakho’s unusual way of playing, his gangly physicality and his massive legs make him look like he can’t play, like he is never in control, when in actual fact, it’s the complete opposite. But, what if other teams think he is a target? What if they think he’s a weak link? They will target him. They will target us when our defence is in possession and they will look to force mistakes out of him. It is all well and good being brilliant on the ball, but not even the greatest players on the planet can put up with 90 minutes of pressure, physicality and ridicule on the ball. That’s what happened last year. And like it or lump it, that is putting our defence as a whole under pressure and it is not allowing us to start attacks quickly. With Lovren, this could all change.
It’s worth giving him a chance. It’s worth allowing him time to shine. And anyway, he cost us an absolute bomb, and I wouldn’t mind him doing well. You know, because he’s a Liverpool player. And everyone should want Liverpool players to do well.
