Ex-Red: Liverpool need to strengthen spine in January

Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Watford highlighted a lack of ‘battlers’ in the squad, according to ex-Reds striker John Aldridge.

Writing in his weekly column for the Liverpool Echo, the former Republic of Ireland international spoke about how Jurgen Klopp’s men failed to win their individual battles, and insisted that the squad needs new additions in January:

There is no doubt that the Liverpool squad needs strengthening in January.

We need more battlers because we’re getting out-fought. It happened against West Brom and it happened again against Watford.

As the old saying goes, you need to win the individual battles and then the quality shines through. We failed to win those battles at Vicarage Road.

Regarding positions that need strengthening, Aldridge spoke about the spine of the team and said that additions are needed in three key areas:

In terms of positions where we need to buy, you could go right through the spine of the team – centre-half, centre midfield, striker.

The former Reds striker also discussed the first two goals that Liverpool conceded, and once again pointed out that Klopp’s men were slightly unlucky, but that the goals could have been easily prevented.

Adam Bogdan made a mistake for the first goal but he was unlucky because he had both hands on the ball before it was knocked in. The referee got that wrong but I wouldn’t be too critical of him because it was a close call.

Martin Skrtel has to do better for the second goal. He has to use his left foot and stick the ball in the stands or behind for a corner, instead of just waving his right boot like he did.

It was a great finish from Odion Ighalo but he shouldn’t have been allowed to find himself in that position.

Aldridge also spoke about the starting lineup that Klopp selected and said while he understood the manager’s thinking, it played into Watford’s hands.

I know what Jurgen Klopp was hoping for by starting with the front three who tore Man City apart but Watford away on a cold December afternoon, on a smaller pitch against a team who are in your faces was a different challenge. Watford never gave us the space to play. They fought for everything and out-battled us.

The ex-Tranmere boss also pointed out to a glaring issue with the side at the moment: the inability to defend simple situations easily.

The frustration is we have to work so hard for our goals, but we concede them at the other end so cheaply. The errors are so basic – from the keeper to the players in front of him – and teams keep capitalising on that.

We don’t defend corners well enough and we don’t take corners well enough. Set-pieces account for around a third of goals in the Premier League. It’s a big part of the game and we have to improve drastically at both ends.