Date: 22nd September 2014 at 7:14pm
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Right, let’s get the negatives out of the way.

The displays against Aston Villa and Rudogorets Lazgrad must rank among the worst Anfield displays under Brendan.

And a dreadful seven minutes away to West Ham put paid to any hopes the Reds may have had of bouncing back immediately.

Defensive fragility is nothing new to Reds fans but the lack of creativity is the biggest concern.

Despite the poor start there is definitely still room for a bit of perspective.

During the last three games the Reds fielded six new faces, no matter how good a player is it’s always going to take time for him to settle into a new system.

Rather than focus on the new signings most Reds fans seem to be pining for one who went through the exit door.

“With Suarez we would’ve won that” has been the forlorn cry of many Reds over the last three games.

You might as well say “With Dalglish in his prime we would’ve won that”.

The fact of the matter is Luis Suarez is a supremely talented footballer who decided he would rather ply his trade abroad.

The club backed him to the hilt, Brendan did everything possible to keep him happy and the fans idolised him.

There is literally nothing anybody could’ve done, the fact is he’s gone and he’s not coming back.

But that need not be a negative.

Back in 1987 the Reds lost a prolific striker when Ian Rush moved to play in Italy which he famously described as ‘Like living in a foreign country’.

Rather than worry about what they didn’t have the Liverpool team formed in his absence was one of the most scintillating in our history.

John Aldridge, John Barnes and Peter Beardsley combined to create a front three that took the league by storm.

The Reds won the league by nine points staying unbeaten until mid March on the way to a 17th league title.

While most of our summer signings are taking some time to bed in there can be no question that we now have much more strength in depth and a more complete squad.

Last season we had to turn to Victor Moses or Iago Aspas when in need of a late goal.

Even though Lazar Markovic, Adam Lallana et al haven’t set the world on fire yet the improved quality on the bench is plain to see.

For too long the Reds have relied on one or two star players to carry them.

Before Suarez and Sturridge it was Gerrard and Torres, in the 90s it was Owen and before him Fowler.

Of course every team is going to have one or two star men but during the summer Brendan correctly identified that the squad simply had to improve if we’re going to be competitive at home and abroad.

Whenever you’re trying to integrate so many new players into a team it’s bound to take some time, especially when the team is so young.

For the win against Tottenham the Reds’ average age was only 24.

That day the Reds put on a dynamic attacking performance with youngsters Raheem Sterling and Alberto Moreno coming to the fore.

In fact, Steven Gerrard and Rickie Lambert are the only players aged over 30 who have been involved in the first team this season.

This season we’ve won three and lost three, clearly the quality is there but we simply lack consistency.

This is most clear in defence, we have been dreadful which seems to be down to a lack of leadership at the back.

Simon Mignolet simply isn’t commanding in goal and even though Martin Skrtel is the most experienced centre half, he has never been a vocal leader on the pitch.

Dejan Lovren could well prove to be a defensive leader but he needs time to settle in and boost his confidence.

I’m not saying that we should ignore what is happening on the pitch right now.

Both Gerrard and Brendan have rightly criticised performances and we need to improve.

But there is no doubt that there is enough ability in our young squad – they just need time and support.

Once the new players have settled in it won’t be long before we’re close to the level we were at last season.

How long do you think it will take Liverpool to improve their level of performance? What should be considered a successful season for us this time around? Let us know your thoughts below. 

 

4 responses to “The Future’s Bright, The Future’s Red”

  1. my concern is about the position of Steven, think it directly affects our defence. defensive mid field plays a vital role in shielding the defence and giving defenders time to concentrate as well as chasing intruders into the box which Steve no longer has gas for, suggest that game time should be reduced, to save energy for his position

    • Andrew Smith says:

      Fair point, he clearly isn’t capable of playing three games in eight days.
      I also don’t think that him and Lucas should play together as neither are capable of making good forward runs.
      I think the reason Stevie played well last season was because we kept the ball well meaning he had little to do defensively. Improving our ball retention is probably the best way to take the strain off the defence.

  2. Tboier says:

    Optimism is good at this point so is the fan’s support but in reality BR should know that the players that will hit the ground running are what he should have brought in… The congested fixture was always going to be a problem and consistent defeats will only demoralise the team especially players settling in…. overall, a backup for Mignolet should have been signed coz his prominent errors cost us last season & naw he has added bad positioning to his long list of errors… our defensive coaches too are obviosly robbing us even if we pay them stipends… we cant continue to be a suspect at the back & expect to go unpunished… you only need to take a long hard look at Sakho, Skrtel, Lovren, Agger( before he left) & Johnson… they dont strike fear into opposition strikers which shows that teams love playing us… It’s going to be a long hard season but Lfc should learn how to poach good players that will hit the ground running when they are signed… in the mean time thogh… we are behind the team that vittually over-achieved last term…#YNWA

  3. mark thompson says:

    Firstly where is coutino. his diplays have been poor so far this season but its simply because the kid needs a moving target when he gets the ball. then we are in business . he can put it where your going to be in a flash.but he looks up now and there is ballatelli standing looking like the plank that he is. Coutino needs movment if not he has to redirect and by then he seems to get caught in posession a lot. its not his fault .GET THE PLANK MOVING