REALITY BITES FOR KLOPP

After two successive winters of discontent, a difficult week has seen Jurgen Klopp face mounting criticism about his rotation policy but the inability to address more fundamental problems remains the real issue at Anfield

JOSE MOURINHO wasn’t the only manager crying over spilt milk this week. Jurgen Klopp has also emerged as a manager who has visibly struggled in recent days as the spectre of another winter of discontent threatens to undermine Liverpool’s stuttering progress.

The stinging criticism of a rotation policy in the Premier League, as the number of changes reached 65, were magnified by two underwhelming league results, against Everton and West Bromwich Albion.

While the penalty concession against Everton, and the post-match spat with the Sky interviewer which followed, gained much traction in the media fallout, the real problem for Liverpool was that they weren’t able to make their dominance count with a second goal which would have ruled out any prospect of a comeback against a side who hadn’t displayed any intent to score.

And it also shone a light on the recurring theme of defensive vulnerability which revealed itself in Dejan Lovren’s panicked and rushed reaction when trying to deal with the rare advance of an Everton striker into their penalty area.

These have been the headline-grabbers but, in reality, the same fundamental issues still dog his team.

As they prepare to face a Bournemouth side, 12 months on from a stunning defeat where they coughed up leads of 2-0 and 3-1 to lose 4-3 to a last-minute Nathan Ake goal, it is obvious that recurring frailty exists.

It may not be ever-present but it lurks menacingly beneath the surface nonetheless.

There has been a lot of chat about last Sunday’s penalty and it seemed as if Klopp was almost trying to defend the indefensible in the aftermath. He knew that Dejan Lovren made a mistake.

What I found interesting was that so many people were pointing out that he shouldn’t have placed his hands on Dominic CalvertLewin’s back.

The striker was very clever, moving his body into the defender as Lovren tries to get closer to the ball.

Others said he shouldn’t have been so tight to the striker; that he could have just left him alone as he was moving away from goal.

In my mind, what Lovren needed to do was actually slow down and calm down.

The striker still had to take a touch, then try to get a shot away from a very difficult angle.

Lovren should have realised that, with the striker shielding the ball, he wouldn’t be able to go through the man to get the ball.

FRAILTIES

It was a defensive error if framed in a different context to, for example, the set-piece frailties that dogged them on the opening day of the season against Watford. It helped that Sam Allardyce’s approach ensured Everton had only one corner!

As we discussed last season, part of the problem is that Liverpool didn’t get the second goal which would have confirmed their superiority.

Sadio Mane was guilty in this regard when shooting wide from a position where a squared ball to one of three unmarked team-mates in the first half would have doubled the lead, hence coercing Everton to open up and allow Liverpool’s players even more attacking space.

But they didn’t get the second goal and, despite being so prolific in their Champions League games against Maribor and Spartak Moscow, that occasional inability to kill teams off remains a mental weakness.

Even against Brighton recently, where they also won with a flourish, there was nevertheless a sense of anxiety amongst supporters when Chris Hughton’s men pulled a goal back to make it 3-1, a feeling amplified by staff and players afterwards.

This led more or less directly to the ensuing debate, fuelled by the 1-1 draw with Everton, in terms of how Klopp is rotating his squad.

And, had his side not conceded that goal against Brighton, an avoidable Jordan Henderson push on Shane Duffy from a corner, the delay in withdrawing key players would not have occurred.

The following week, many felt he should have weakened the side against Spartak Moscow but, in fairness, the primary aim was to guarantee Liverpool finished top of their group and, having secured both the handsome win and a decent second round draw, he could feel justified in that approach although I found it strange Dejan Lovren was withdrawn early in that game, rather than an attacker.

Inevitably, that fed into criticism of his selection against Everton, when he crazily underestimated the importance of the Merseyside derby to his club’s supporters, omitting both Roberto Firminho and Philippe Coutinho.

It’s very hard for outsiders to be specific about the rotation policy because we don’t understand what is going on internally and I empathise with his frustration.

It is reasonable for him to keep his eye on the ball in terms of the future and where they are in relation to the competitions in which they remain.

Privately, they will concede the league is gone, although they must ensure they retain their top-four status.

The League Cup is already off the agenda so there are only two possibilities left and they have as good a chance of winning the Champions League and FA Cup as any of the other English sides, provided some deficiencies can be eradicated sooner rather than later.

The irony is that they play Everton again in the third round; Klopp won’t have the luxury afforded rivals who normally wait until they reach the fifth round or quarter-final to strengthen their line-ups.

Man City’s rotation midweek seemed effortless and at their ease; Liverpool cannot aspire to that level of consistency.

Nobody can. Mo Salah is their player of the season but he won’t be the player of the season. None of them would make the City team.

As he approaches his third winter in English football, Klopp is fully aware of the slumps that have affected Liverpool either side of the festive period, a problem he never had to face in Germany where, after this weekend’s programme, they will be idle until January 12.

Last season, without any exertions in Europe, Liverpool played 15 matches in all competitions during December and January, winning five, drawing five and losing five.

Having previously topped the league, losing only to Burnley, once they succumbed spectacularly to Bournemouth their momentum would never recover.

In the previous year, their record was almost an exact replica: Liverpool had 16 matches in the same period – they won six, drew five and lost five, four of them defeats in the league.

Little wonder Liverpool supporters, despite the reserves of winter fuel stored in their Champions League ambitions, are feeling more than a little nervous during this frenetic period.

Even though he has been more than two years in the job, Klopp is still adjusting to the English game unlike, say, Mourinho, whose length of service in England allows him to navigate these difficult moments with a bit more savvy.

RELUCTANT

Even Pep Guardiola, so reluctant to deny that he had to radically address his defensive problems last term, has had to temper his enthusiasm by over-hauling his squad.

With Liverpool, that remains a core issue which hasn’t been addressed, notwithstanding their hapless attempts to extricate Virgil van Dijk from Southampton during the summer.

The answer could lie within. Joe Gomez, signed from Charlton as a centre-back, has been mostly deployed as a right-back but he has impressed me when I have seen him. He is mobile, athletic, and comfortable on the ball.

Klopp has done well dealing out opportunities to younger players; Gomez has 11 starts in the league already this season. Trent

Alexander-Arnold has started six league games.

But they need even more defensive depth than what they have available at the moment.

Also, Liverpool have not been as vulnerable to set-piece calamities since their opening league game against Watford but there have still been elaborate defensive failures.

From Watford to Spurs, from Sevilla to Manchester City, there remains a sense that another implosion is never very far away.

That collective vulnerability, even flickering so briefly against Brighton, a match they eventually won 5-1, remains close to the surface. The mindset is still there.

They are a team who are never comfortable, even if they are 3-0 up.

It’s very hard to play on that edge all season, when supporters and staff are thinking there isn’t a mental toughness in the team to overcome the first setback in a game, whether it is a sending-off or the concession of an opening goal.

The defenders – and goalkeepers – have all been involved in games where outlandish errors have caused goals.

In football, you need that resilience and strength, as well as the characters to help you overcome adversity because nothing goes smoothly for 90 minutes; even Man City have had setbacks recently, retrieving recent wins despite falling behind twice. It’s the stuff winners are made of.

Liverpool can always bounce back in the next game but have rarely shown they can back bounce in the same game.

Losing a goal to Sevilla at 3-0 in the second half shouldn’t be an issue for a good team.

A good team needs to know how to beat a superior team 1-0 but also have the ability to defeat an inferior team by the same margin; Mourinho often identifies this by putting on an extra defensive midfield player.

But we’re still having the same debate about Liverpool.

They have been relatively solid and there has been improvement – apart from the occasional meltdown. Even Ragnar Klavan has come on this term. But the difficulty in putting teams away heightens the sense of anxiety at the other end of the pitch.

They may have only hit a blank in three league games this season but, at home for example, their haul of 14 goals in nine league games is far short of Man City’s 28 in eight.

There have been some great days at Anfield – the Champions League wins against Hoffenheim, Maribor and Spartak, the league win against Arsenal – but a lot of frustrating ones, such as Burnley and Manchester United.

In their nine league games at home, they have won four and drawn five (West Brom, Everton, Chelsea, Manchester United and Burnley).

That’s ten points dropped at home, far too high a figure to challenge for title honours, regardless of City’s majesty and it may yet imperil their top-four status given the scramble for those positions.

I like Klopp’s character. He is down to earth and seems to emotionally engage with the knowledgeable locals, even challenging them last season when some had the temerity to leave Anfield before the final knockings.

He has a necessary chip on the shoulder and it often seems that, in his second language, he struggles to find the vocabulary to explain his actions and then his frustration is compounded when those explanations are misinterpreted.

He brought a decent reputation from Germany but he hasn’t really got to the bottom of the team’s recurring issues – and they still haven’t won a trophy.

Is he the man to restore the dominance they crave? It is most unlikely but who else could without any financial interest from the Middle East.

I think Klopp is a great character but is it more important to have somebody who is good at the job.

The success in Germany, when Dortmund rose to the top of the chasing pile beyond Bayern Munich and earned some fleeting success, was far easier in relative terms than it will be for Liverpool to bridge the financial gap between them and Manchester City. Or even Manchester United and Chelsea.

CAPACITY

Klopp, with the squad he now has, can only hope for a one-off title success; they don’t have the stadium capacity or the commercial power to reach the next level.

The renewed scramble to retain Coutinho next month will once more test everyone’s patience and resolve. As history has shown, Bournemouth may also be capable of exposing frailties too.

In many ways, the best message for the manager, his occasionally fraught defence and the front men who are required to score goals to relieve this pressure, is a familiar clarion call from the Scousers on Merseyside.

Calm down. Bournemouth v Liverpool Live Sky Sports, tomorrow 4.15

A GOOD TEAM NEEDS TO KNOW HOW TO BEAT A SUPERIOR TEAM1-0BUTALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO DEFEAT AN INFERIOR TEAM BY THE SAME MARGIN