Liverpool's defensive problems struck again last night as concentration lapses at the heart of the Reds' defence gifted Udinese victory at Anfield in the Europa League. After the game, Reds manager Brendan Rodgers criticised the team's defensive display, and Anfield legend David Fairclough also believes that the club's defenders are letting the side down.
Analysing the game for LFC TV, Fairclough - who won three European Cups with Liverpool - said:
"Defensively we're letting ourselves down.
"We're conceding too may goals, and we're committing errors in defensive areas, and ultimately, that's costing us goals.
"That needs to be erased from the team; we can play as well as we want but and if you're giving sides too much of a lead then there's no way back.
"Defensively is where I'd be more concerned, but going forward, some of the link-play was great".
It comes as no surprise that Glen Johnson made yet another mistake that led to an opposition goal. At the start of the second half, he lost the ball 40 yards from goal; Udinese counter-attacked at speed, and exploited the fact that Johnson was now out of position, and the resulting cross from Andrea Lazzari was buried by Antonio Di Natale.
As I've argued repeatedly over the last three years, Johnson is a defensive liability, and the one thing you can guarantee with him every season is mistakes that lead to opposition goals. Including tonight's mistake, Johnson has now made five mistakes this season that have led to opposition goals.
* West Brom: Left Lukaku unmarked at the back post, which allowed him a free head to score the third goal. Johnson backed off towards the post, which was already being covered by another LFC player.
* Arsenal: Slow to react to Lukas Podolski's run, and by the time he'd realised it, it was too late, and the German scored.
* Arsenal: Whatever way you look at it, Johnson is partly culpable for Cazorla's goal. Didn't put any pressure on Podolski, who was then able to put in the through ball. Also didn't track Cazorla's run into the box.
* Sunderland: Gardner ghosted past Johnson as if he wasn't there, which allowed him to drill the ball into the danger area, and Steven Fletcher scored.
That's five goals Johnson has cost the club this season; how many more before Rodgers sees the problem and takes action?
I've asked this question many times but no one has yet provided a credible answer: what exactly does Johnson bring to the team? He doesn't score or assist regularly; his presence doesn't improve the defence; he hasn't helped the team improve results over the last three years. The fact that he plays for England means nothing; his impact for Liverpool is what counts, and the only thing he consistently does well is make mistakes that lead to goals.
Liverpool should sell Johnson to the highest bidder whilst he's able to attract a decent transfer fee.
Jaimie Kanwar
Analysing the game for LFC TV, Fairclough - who won three European Cups with Liverpool - said:
"Defensively we're letting ourselves down.
"We're conceding too may goals, and we're committing errors in defensive areas, and ultimately, that's costing us goals.
"That needs to be erased from the team; we can play as well as we want but and if you're giving sides too much of a lead then there's no way back.
"Defensively is where I'd be more concerned, but going forward, some of the link-play was great".
It comes as no surprise that Glen Johnson made yet another mistake that led to an opposition goal. At the start of the second half, he lost the ball 40 yards from goal; Udinese counter-attacked at speed, and exploited the fact that Johnson was now out of position, and the resulting cross from Andrea Lazzari was buried by Antonio Di Natale.
As I've argued repeatedly over the last three years, Johnson is a defensive liability, and the one thing you can guarantee with him every season is mistakes that lead to opposition goals. Including tonight's mistake, Johnson has now made five mistakes this season that have led to opposition goals.
* West Brom: Left Lukaku unmarked at the back post, which allowed him a free head to score the third goal. Johnson backed off towards the post, which was already being covered by another LFC player.
* Arsenal: Slow to react to Lukas Podolski's run, and by the time he'd realised it, it was too late, and the German scored.
* Arsenal: Whatever way you look at it, Johnson is partly culpable for Cazorla's goal. Didn't put any pressure on Podolski, who was then able to put in the through ball. Also didn't track Cazorla's run into the box.
* Sunderland: Gardner ghosted past Johnson as if he wasn't there, which allowed him to drill the ball into the danger area, and Steven Fletcher scored.
That's five goals Johnson has cost the club this season; how many more before Rodgers sees the problem and takes action?
I've asked this question many times but no one has yet provided a credible answer: what exactly does Johnson bring to the team? He doesn't score or assist regularly; his presence doesn't improve the defence; he hasn't helped the team improve results over the last three years. The fact that he plays for England means nothing; his impact for Liverpool is what counts, and the only thing he consistently does well is make mistakes that lead to goals.
Liverpool should sell Johnson to the highest bidder whilst he's able to attract a decent transfer fee.
Jaimie Kanwar
Match stats:
ReplyDeleteLiverpool:
Shots: 21
On target: 16
Possession: 71%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 6
Udinese:
Shots: 8
On target: 5
Possession: 29%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
Just few months back we had best defense in the league.
ReplyDeleteWhen was this? How does a team in 8th place have the best defence in the league?
ReplyDeleteIt's not about the result; it's about the defending, which was poor again.
ReplyDeleteI know, it was unrelated post just to express my frustration.
ReplyDeleteJohnson has been a liability in defence since a long time. I still don't understand why every manager including England team selects him in his first in spite of his blunders.
ReplyDeleteAs far as selling him is concern, No club may want him because of his poor defensive record and moreover, he is one of the highest paid players at Liverpool.
We had one of the best defense in the league last season. With the players and the attacking quality we had in the team last year we would have finished bottom half if it wasnt for defense.
ReplyDeleteAgree, but there seems to be a perception that Johnson is actually a really good player. Fans always tell me that he must be good because successive LFC managers have picked him, and he's in the England squad etc, so maybe other managers see him that way too...?
ReplyDeletejaimie why do you constantly critisise the same players yet other players can do no wrong eg allen what was his pass rate last night he rings no attacking play to the side whats so ever he cannot pass a ball forward to save his life yes i admit johnson has lapses in defence but he will score and create more goals than allen this season and he will stop more goals than allen this season the team win and lose as a team not 1or2 individules
ReplyDeleteAs a defender your no 1 priority is to defend and Johnson consistently failed to impress.I still don't understand why Rafa spent 17 mil on him when it was clear he and Portsmouth were in the doldrums.Mourinho never had faith in him when he was at Chelsea.Carragher,Skertel and Johnson need to be replaced soonest.Except for Carragher,the latter two are still our first teamers.BR must select Coates,Wisdom and Robinson/Kelly for the time being.
ReplyDeleteGJ is one of the best player in the squad. He had a bad game yesterday but otherwise he routinely adds so much to the attack. If he is made played as left back occasionally than he is prone to make mistakes due to wrong foot. I will never drop a player like GJ.
ReplyDeletePeople always say "they didn't deserve to lose the match" and things like that but if you make stupid mistakes that give away easy goals then I believe you do deserve to lose.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been a very pleasant dream, Chirag.
ReplyDeleteits not about the result come on be real if the results dont matter its ok we can carry on losing game after game the premier league wont relagate us and we can play in the europa and fa cup finals we could even ask eufa to forget about last years results and ask if theres any chance of a place in this seasons champions league final and jaimie why did you think it was time for kenny to go if its not about results we won a cup last year this season we will be lucky to win anything or get even close
ReplyDeleteI criticise when there is a legitimate reason to do so, and it's the same players because it's always the same players who create the problems. Johnson made another mistake; why should I not highlight it? Allen did not make any mistakes that led to goals; plus, his positive impact on the team far outweighs that of Johnson.
ReplyDeleteYou also criticise the players/team sometimes, but you don't see me getting on your back for it.This is football; criticism is part of it, and if you don't like it, tough luck!
Why is he one of the best players in the squad? What specifically makes him one of the best? What is his positive impact on the team? Please provide some specific examples of how his presence benefits the team. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWith these stats you could also argue that the forwards let us down but not putting it in the net more than twice...
ReplyDeleteI think the errors are steming from the new play style, i.e. not booting it away, and instead playing i out from defence. They just dont seem used to it yet. But im sure they will get there.
But lets be honest, losing the ball 40 yards from goal, shouldnt suddenly create a chance for them. Other players should have probably done a bit better too.
It was also only a heavy touch from him, its not like he passed it to there players. Every player has a heavy touch every now and then.
Having said that, I would probably prefer Kelly at right back.
Last season, Manchester City had the Premier League's best defensive record and Liverpool's was joint third
ReplyDeleteYou've got the complete wrong end of the stick, which happens you have a complete inability to be objective. When I said 'it's not about the result', I was referring to one specific result, i.e. Udinese, and explaining that my post was about defensive errors, not about whether the result was fair.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I am starting to wonder what Allen actually does!? He has no influence in attack at all!! If he's supposed to be our Xavi he isn't. They both maintain possesion well, but Xavi knows how to turn that into an attacking move, Allen seemingly doesn't. He is young and its early days, but things need to be stepped up. Also if anyone replies that thats not his job, then I disagree. Yes keep possesion and keep things ticking, but there has to be an end product and in football that is goals.
ReplyDeleteAccording to you LFC should sell Suarez, Agger and drop Gerrard. I don't think I can alter your opinion about anyone let alone GJ. It must be hard to be a LFC fan for you as you hardly like any LFC players.
ReplyDeleteAllen's role is not to attack; it is to keep possession and give the ball to players who can attack. What people seem to forget is that Allen is covering Lucas at the moment; he is also the defensive mid doing all the donkey work. If lucas was in the team, Allen could go forward more.
ReplyDeleteHow much attacking work does Lucas do? How much did Mascherano do? People have the wrong expectations of Allen right now; as the team's DM, what is he supposed to do? He has no choice but to stay back and protect the back four.
jaimie i mentioned allen because i knew you would respond because you cannot accept that maybe just maybe rodgers is not going to hack it at lfc your quick enought to slate kennys signings but rodgers boys you defend to the hilt and imo apart from downing who is beyond hope the signings rodgers as made have not improved the club one bit borrini i would rather have carrol or kuyt or bellamy ..lucas for allen
ReplyDeletelife isnt fair but the results have got to improve and fast
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to paraphrase me then please don't twist my words. I never said LFC should drop Gerrard; I said that *occasionally*, he should be rested so that he's able to prolong his career and be fresh for games.
ReplyDeleteI asked you legitimate questions about Johnson; if you don't have an answer then say so; don't start suggesting I'm not an LFC fan, which is just lazy.
Also, it's not about 'liking' players. I don't know them personally; do you? It is not personal - I look at their impact on the team.
Whatever your view, you have to wholeheartedly agree with David Fairclough that our defense at the moment is poor. And unfortunate as it is Glen Johnson has repeatedly made a hell of a lot of 'schoolboy' errors.
ReplyDeleteHe is a very good player BUT he still makes these very poor judgements in defense which cost us games and points.
Now if it was David Fairclough......it would be a different matter.
YNWA.
Rodgers is not going to hack it at LFC? Based on what? 8-9 games? Why should I accept that when there's no evidence to support it?
ReplyDeleteAllen et al have played only a handful of games; Dalglish's flops had dozens of games to prove themselves and abjectly failed.
Very fair result. We were complacent at the back, leaving them with way too much time on the ball. We must be more aggressive and close the areas well because we seem to be conceding goals by having holes in our defence were opposing players can slot in. This is leaving us with no margin for error when we lose possession.
ReplyDeleteThis season, it seems like we are using zonal-marking at times. It worked well under Rafa (despite what critics say, you cannot argue with the fact that we kept the most clean sheets in the league for three straight seasons), however, under Rafa, our defence was tighter and attacked the ball. Right now, the players are waiting for it to enter their area and then attack it. Whenever opposing players understand this and anticipate the spaces left open by our "lazy" defenders, they are scoring goals. (Tevez, Fletcher, Holt, Podolski, DiNatale to name a few).
It's not that our defensive system is bad, it's that our players lack proper understanding of it, especially the aggressive aspect of it.
so your saying when lucas comes back he can attack more well whilst lucas his away he could try and attack or play a constructive ball the odd time instead of backwards and sidewards and weres he going to play when lucas comes back in gerrards role?
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned "drop" and not rested. How am I twisting your words? By saying drop as drop? Regarding GJ, he has a problem of Lapse in concentration OCCASIONALLY while defending but otherwise he is great going forward. I reckon he is among the top 3 right back in the world who are dangerous when going forward.
ReplyDeleteDefensive record was better last year because defence was protected by
ReplyDeletemidfield players. Individual deficiencies & limitations were not exposed as they are now. Maybe some of the defenders we have now are just not good enough to play this system, which by the way I think is tremendous to watch and will at some stage turn LFC into a great team again.
its hardly hard to be one of the best players in such a week squad
ReplyDeleteJaimie I agree 100 % , we should ge rid of him , he was Rafa's bad buys and brings nothing to Liverpool but misery with his awful defencing , he is costing us games and will in the future ,BR must sell him in Jan transfer window.Yunus
ReplyDeleteAllen does play forward passes, and he does get forward sometimes, but you refuse to see it. The idea that he only plays sideways/backwards passes is ridiculous media myth.
ReplyDeleteYes, drop him for the odd game, as I explained above. Why are you so hung up with the word 'drop'? It's just a word. In the context I used it, I did not suggest dropping him permanently.
ReplyDeleteOn the side note, I love the way we are playing football at the moment. At times last year we played similar football too. Pass and move. But this time around we have a very vibrant midfield and am looking forward to how well we play other big teams. BR might not get a desired result this season but I feel there is huge transformation in the squad and the way we play, so sometimes results are compromised. BR should stay for at least couple of season, I want to see how far can he take us. Even if we finish 6-7-8 this season, I will be positive about next season if he have all the same quality players in the squad plus couple more. Hope to see BR produce good result along with the already good football he has brought in. This will be unpredictable season and exciting as hell. Just one thing in my mind right now that BR must sort out, tell players to stop making schoolboy mistakes and his post match presentation seems to be very direct, like it. Unlike KD he actually blasts players. Nice one BR.
ReplyDeleteAm not hung up, you accused me of twisting your words. So I had to justify.
ReplyDeleteUntill agger got injured last season we had a great defensive record,then did you not wane rid of dagger to.
ReplyDeleteNo team would want him?? are you blind Real madrid wanted him i will be sad to see him live anfield he is a mordern full back he might have lapses but his still top lets see he was solid against both manch. clubs he played part in Gerrards goal against city he had a clear pen. turned down Skrtel has made some very stupid mistakes but no 1 goes around blaming him lets try to be behind our players and you know thsi managers know why they play GJ ahead of others 5 managers cant be wrong ..Capello ,Dalglish, Rafa ,Hodgson and Rodgers
ReplyDeletejamie i have watched every single game since allen signed and its no myth
ReplyDeleteTotally agree that the defence are letting us down. We have seen several occasions were we have conceded goals that could easily have been avoided. If Brendan wants to stay in this competition then he is going to have to play the 1st eleven right from the start in order to obtain the points required if we are to progress
ReplyDeleteI think one of the big problems for me in relation to our defending is our answer to the opposition, after they get beyond our initial high press. We simply do not have much of an answer, when they by-pass our high pressing. Some errors can be put down to the defence but some of the goals, the way they come about, should never have got to that stage if our high press hadn't failed or we had a better answer in midfield, after the high press fails, as the defence sometimes gets too isolated from the rest of the team, which makes it hard for the defence. With the high press, players can get sucked in to close down but they leave space. Its not a easy system to get used to, this high pressing system.
ReplyDeleteIts time Rodgers gave Johnson some of the Downing treatment. If you look at Downing last night he actually showed some fight and determination which should see him play against stoke or at least on the bench. Downing was dropped because he showed no heart start of season and same should be done to Johnson.
ReplyDeleteReal wanted him? According to who? Daily Mail? Pffft.
ReplyDeleteThe dubiousness of the source aside, lets look at the dubiousness of the rumour itself. Johnson to Real, whose manager is Mourinho, the manager that sold him to Pompey, a egotistical manager that Johnson had a big problem with back at Chelsea and has been negative about Mourinho at times in interviews. Trust the Daily Mail to come up with a good rumour(!)
That is different from saying having the 'best defence'
ReplyDeleteSo it's the players fault Jamie isn't it. Only recently u were blaming Benitez for loosing the title to MU by four points.u didn't go to c how many chances did the players missed in those draws u were referring that would've won us the league. U were saying it was Benitez' s fault. So last night result was Johnson's fault. Nothing to do with the mngr.havent heard u or other pundits suggesting to play the strongest team from the start, go 2:0 up and then rest the players. That was criticism Benitez was getting all the time after rotating the players. Hypocritical. I'd say so.
ReplyDeleteBekim - where did I say the result was Johnson's fault? Why can't you and others have the slightest bit of objectivity when you read something? if you weren't so busy worshipping players you might be able to do that.
ReplyDeleteJohnson is always more concerned with attacking than defending and we could experiment with him playing number 7 for some games. Unfortunately no manager has ever done this; why dont we try to play say Wisdom in number 2 and Johnson in number 7 for once.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Johnson is the guy that always does the hard work and fails the easiest part(scoring or failing to make a perfect cross). Yesterday in the first half, he beat some two defenders on he left and let off a very strong shot across the goal. I wondered whether he was trying to shoot at goal or cross the ball. In my country(Uganda) we call it "washing clothes and hanging them in the dirt"
He is a typical busy bee only he never produces the honey. His contribution is a net negative
Me worshiping players. I dont think so. I prefer Kelly as right back anyway. Or Wisdom should take that position now Kelly is injured. I was only pointing that the other day u should've highlighted the mistakes and chances the players missed to turn two draws into wins for us to win the title. Instead of blaming the mngr(Benitez) who got us the closest to win the title.
ReplyDeleteHow can GJ is one of the best when he hasn't been performing his primary duty as a defender? You even blame his foot? He is supposed to be a DEFENDer!
ReplyDeleteTo be fair liverpool are playing some good stuff but we are not winning games we should be, said that alot last year. the fact is no matter what we think or say it is ultimately upto the manager and who he picks. if he picks a team and they do not win, then it falls down to him as he is the person who has the choice. At the mintue liverpool are playing good stuff but are failing to finish off games and cannot defend a couter attack to save thier lives. Already people are calling for BR head as we are not winning but in my opinion we are exactly where we should be! we have an inexperienced team and we are no where near the top 4 in terms of quality. If BR makes even 6th it is a good job. ultimately his fate will be by the way results go over the long term not the short. no matter what type of football you play or philosophy you have it is ultimately judged by results. if you do not get the results your philosophy and playing style is flawed no matter how pretty it is. This may sound like i am judging BR alread but i am not, i want him to succeed and i have blind faith and will stick by him. blind faithto me is only something attributed to a fan who truly belives even against hard facts of bad results and whatever anyone else says; i think he is the right man to take us forward in the long run. if i am wrong after 3 or 4 years, well i am wrong ,but what i wont do is make that decision after a handfull of games.
ReplyDeletethen you should watch those games again, i think you've missed something...
ReplyDeleteno i have not wish i had maybe you can refresh me what chances as he created
ReplyDeleteHe should have been sacked when Roy Hodgson had a spat with him. Infact I am sure that Dalglish would never have been sacked if Johnson and Pepe Riena were not in the team.
ReplyDeleteYou are a moron
ReplyDeleteJK you always raise good points and make good discussions.
ReplyDeleteOkay, you all want us to prove to you why Johnson should remain at LFC. You ask us what he contributes in a 'measurable' way. 'Measurable', is that goals? Assists? Clean sheets?
I think Johnson is a good defender, obviously he's not the greatest though. I still think he is the best right back in the squad. And remember, when he plays at left back he's doing a job for the team. He's helping the team. You surely cannot say Robinson is better than Johnson at LB. Agger gets caught out at LB. Do you remember Skrtel vs Spurs at right back? 4-0 it was.
The defence as a whole is critically under-performing. It isn't just Johnson making errors and costing us games. Already, Johnson has cost us, Shelvey has cost us, Skrtel and Reina have cost us results too. Even Gerrard.
We aren't in the position where we are 1st in the Premier League and we can identify and get rid of the weakest links in our squad - Who are you going to replace Johnson with? We don't have this luxury. Man City can do it, but I dont think we can.
Also, IMO Allen is a great player, a future captain for sure. However, in what 'measurable' way does he contribute? And you can't say possession and pass accuracy. That doesn't score us goals. Goals win games.
I dont entirely disagree with you, but I'm just raising some points, without any bias.