absolutely.
how can anyone have that amount of free space in front of our goal. That type of scenario should only exist, at the death of an important game, when we are desperately chasing the game, and get caught on the counter.
I don't blame our team. I blame Klopp. I would hate to be a defender, or midfielder, in this outfit. You are onto a hiding to nothing. A sensible manager would bring in a top defensive midfielder. A sensible manager would have plans b, c and d, in his back pocket and cope with all continguencies. He would know how to game manage.
Maybe Klopp's tactic worked in Germany. Maybe it might work in the Champions League, or Europa Cup. But I struggle to see how any team conceding this amount of soft goals, will ever win a Premiership.
Whilst I'm not saying PL teams go route one and the German leagues are more tactical and technical etc, but there is definitely a readiness to use set pieces to score through in the PL, and the ball will get 'tossed in there', and I don't mean aimlessly, but with intention, having been worked on in training. You see more short corners and short free kicks if it's in a wide area in the continental leagues, than in the PL.
I guess it's down to the choice of keeping possession come what may or trying to 'force' an opening sometimes.
Short free kicks and corners being used to keep possession from the initial touch of the ball and 'work' an opening, whereas putting the corner or free kick into the box lowers the chance of keeping possession, but to try and counter the risk of giving possession away, free kicks and corners are worked on. It's just a different attitude or outlook.
All of which highlights the 'perceived flaw'. With corners and free kicks that are 'put in there', the attacking team tends to bring in central defenders to the penalty area, plus an overall greater number of players than in normal 'open' attacking situations, therefore leaving them potentially open to being hit on the break, if possession doesn't remain with the attacking team from the second touch after the initial corner or free kick has been taken.
I guess that's the risk that using the short corner and free kick to keep possession from the second touch onwards, tries to avoid. Fewer bodies forward, less chance of being hit on the counter if possession is lost, but an opening has to be created from the second touch onwards, rather than the free kick or corner being the potential 'assist' in itself.
So we get this gung ho attitude as opposed to a more cautious, build on top of sound defensive set-up and discipline, which is actually far more reckless than the 'less cautious' PL attitude of 'loading' for corners and free kicks, from a manager who comes from a league where the' less cautious' approach seems not to be the prevailing mindset.
I know Klopp can't prevent things like Lovren simply not being able to make connection with the easiest of potential clearances, but Moreno (or whoever is playing left back at the side of Lovren) should have it embedded in him that when covering his centre half, he is the right side and distance from the player he's supposed to have picked up, having identified that danger. It wasn't like there were two 'free men' to cover, so for our left back (I don't want to say it happened 'because' it was Moreno playing left back), the prevention was quite straight forward.
Klopp stated the solution was simply for the defence to 'step up' catching opponents offside, but even if done in perfect synchronisation by the back four, it still has to be spotted by a linesman or referee, so you're not totally reliant on your own actions to achieve a defensive result. Why didn't the defence do that? Is it not 'programmed' into them so they do it automatically? There's a big gap it seems between Klopp's idea of what should have happened, and what
actually did or didn't happen.
So if it's down to players that aren't following instructions, who can't implement the training ground instructions in the 'heat of battle', then why weren't alternatives brought in last January or this Summer. January this year was Klopp's third window at the club.
He's had from October 2015 to May 2016, and August 2016 to May 2017, to see what's what and only Matip (for free) and Klaven for a mere £4.5M (and that wasn't a bargain price, just cheap because that's his 'value') have been brought in. I'm not just saying 'throwing money at it' will sort it, but changes were/are needed and you have to 'invest' in what is actually required. We've had a full season with the addition of Matip and Klaven, and the defending from August 2016 to May 2017, was hardly the required improvement over the October 2015 to May 2016 period.
When you see a readiness to spend the amount of money on a Wijnaldum type and standard of player, then £35M on Oxlade-Chamberlain, yet no investment in the 'option' of a defensively orientated midfielder, and the mediocre signings of Klaven and Klarius, both for under £5M and our highest outlay on the defensive side of the team is the £8M-£10M spent on Robertson, you have to wonder about where the entire defensive side of the game actually sits within Klopp's thinking and philosophy.
