I love the Fab Four but still struggle to get really excited by Liverpool
JURGEN KLOPP’S Liverpool is a Ferrari up front and a misfiring Escort at the back.
Six times out of 10, it’ll take you where you want to go in style, but there’ll be times when you’re pushing it home.
That’s how Friday’s opponents Arsenal have been for years now and, if the German isn’t careful, the Gunners’ lot over the past decade could end up being Liverpool’s over the next one. Arsenal, like Liverpool now, have been blessed with some fine forwards over the years.
But just as Robin van Persie left to join a title-winning side, and Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil look like following suit, there’s a fear Philippe Coutinho will depart Merseyside soon and Sadio Mane or Mo Salah in the not-too-distant future. That’s because it doesn’t take long for lads who are turning it on in attack week after week to grow tired if they’re not winning anything.
They look at things and say, ‘I’m scoring 30 goals a season here, getting 20 by the end of December, but we’re finishing fifth – how the hell does that work?”
They’ll see Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero doing the same thing, but picking up silverware for their efforts and that, ultimately, is only going to happen for so long.
I take no pleasure in saying that because I love watching my old club’s front four every bit as much as Manchester City’s, sometimes even more.
But as things stand, it’s blatantly obvious the Reds can score goals but not defend, and I still don’t think enough people pick them up on that.
The problem is that the commodity of football has been given to a lot of people who haven’t played it, watched it, and been engrossed in it for 30 years.
That means not everyone can see what ought to be smacking them in the face. I’m not just talking about the teenagers who play FIFA and don’t know much about the nuances and context of the game, but a lot of media folk as well.
They lay it on thick when Liverpool win 4-0 at Bournemouth, talking about how amazing they are, but don’t then question a goalless draw against West Brom.
I’d much rather see Liverpool winning 1-0 or 2-1 every game than the pendulum swinging so far.
People will say, ‘You’re talking cobblers, it’s about entertainment’.
But if all you get excited about as a fan is how many goals teams score then something is wrong.
Why can’t you be blown away by a team keeping a really good clean sheet or keeping the ball for the last 15 minutes of a game to dilute pressure?
People watch too many 45-second highlights packages and make their minds up these days, and Liverpool will always come off well from those.
A Salah run here, a Mane run there, a Coutinho free-kick and happy days, but it doesn’t show the bigger picture.
That’s why I struggle to get really excited by Liverpool and why I’d take a 4x4 over a sports car/banger hybrid any day.