This Liverpool team have some outstanding attributes but there are some they desperately need to find. Here are five qualities Liverpool need for success in 2018.
There are a whole host of technical attributes you need to succeed at professional sports. Another entirely different set of physical qualities to be better than the rest. And with that is needed high level mental attributes to put all that talent together to be winners.
Many of these qualities Liverpool have in abundance; speed, skill and positivity. All attributes emphasized by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and reflected in the dynamic performance that Liverpool have put together over the last 18 months.
Yet there is continuing evidence – the most recent result against Arsenal is a prime example – that Liverpool are lacking in a few significant areas that would see them turn into a truly excellent team.
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This lack is undermining the progress of the team, giving the fans the growing suspicion that we are wasting something truly special.
The good news is that the qualities are attainable. Some of that will come through new players who already have them. Elsewhere they can come from development on the training ground. And others can be instilled in the mentality and culture of the club.
There is still much to play for this year. The first priority is to qualify for the Champions League again. Fourth place is a minimum but third or even second is possible and would mark clear development.
There is the FA Cup would be a very tasty addition to this season and Klopp’s tenure as manager. Big days out and trophies is what this club is built on. And on that note we can still hold out hope of doing some damage in the Champions League. But in order to do that we need some changes.
We have ascertained five essential qualities that Liverpool need to find soon if they have any chance of succeeding in the 2017/18. Read on to see what we need…
No.1 – Leadership
Throughout this side there is a lack of leaders. This seems barely plausible with such a charismatic and dynamic manager. However, Jurgen Klopp has not found an on-field proxy for his energy and belief.
The captain Jordan Henderson is one of the most unfairly maligned players I can remember in my 30 years of following the Reds. His main problem seems to be that he is not Steven Gerrard. But if that is the standard – the best Liverpool midfielder of all time – then good luck to ANYONE.
In some ways Henderson shows more vocal leadership. You see him arguing with refs more than Stevie ever did and I don’t doubt for one moment he has a passion worthy of the armband. But so much of Gerrard’s leadership came from never hiding, leading by example and what we call ‘clutch’ moments. Hendo needs a few more big moments when we look lost or struggling.
James Milner is the cliché model professional. No tattoos or expressive haircuts. Just a simple Yorkshireman earning his living being good at football. His presence has been essential in a squad lacking leaders but he is not a rallying figure.
Liverpool desperately need a little more of this quality particularly at center back where the quiet Joel Matip and the limited Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren are not going to give you that spark.
No.2 – Patience
Liverpool have one solution to every problem: Pace. Klopp’s side do everything at 100 miles an hour. If we’re level we try to hit them fast. If we’re winning we try to get another on the break. If we’re losing we try to pound them until they capitulate.
It is the proverbial hammer seeing everything as a nail. Now let’s be clear: we are REALLY good at that. Probably the devastating quick breaking attack in Europe. Yet there are other qualities needed in specific game situations against different opponents.
For most of Brendan Rodgers time at Liverpool the Reds were guilty of too much patience. We dominated the possession stats for three and a half seasons. After Suarez left in 2014 we had no complementing incision and a great team became a weak one over night.
Klopp took things in another direction. The additions of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have given the frontline a devastating array of quick minded, quick footed forwards. But sometimes we need to get hold of the ball keep it and make the opposition run.
The player Klopp has used most for this quality is Adam Lallana. He is not a pass first midfielder or a pace merchant. He likes to hold onto the ball, create space and do a trademark Lallana turn. We could do with bringing him back into a regular rotation sooner rather than later.
No.3 – Composure
After Arsenal got a goal back against Liverpool, two minutes after going 2-0 down, you knew what was going to happen. The only surprise is that it took five minutes instead of 15. Both sides are confidence teams; it only takes a glimmer of hope to bring out their best and a sniff of disaster for things to fall apart.
In the post match interviews you could see James Milner trying to talk about how this not an aberration; this is an endemic problem. Our heads go far too soon.
The quick solution is to say that we need more composed players. Get rid of this junk and get in new players. Though that may not solve the problem. Dejan Lovren looked a top center half before he wore the Liverbird. Joel Matip looked as calm as they come but this season he seems to have been infected by the same jitters.
I’m not sure I’ve seen a more confident person than Loris Karius until you give him a couple of gloves and put him in the Anfield goal. There is not just a personnel issue there is a culture issue. Klopp needs to work out how to mentally prepare this side better for adversity.
No.4 – Nastiness
We have none of this. Absolutely no snide, no needle. Maybe nasty is the wrong word. But you know what I mean; that strain of competitiveness that pushes good sportsmanship to its limits.
Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher had it. Graeme Souness was made from it. Luis Suarez was constantly trying to keep it under wraps, or more accurately, his mouth shut. The nearest our side gets to this is an occasional Henderson rant. It’s not the same.
In Naby Keita we have one player on the way who will bring a bunch of that spirit. The Guinean midfielder has two red cards and five yellows for Red Bull Leipzig. While you are not keen on picking up cards and suspensions, you do want a player who at least COULD get suspended for his passion.
One huge strength Liverpool have is a joy in playing football. Gini Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane and Mohamed all play with a smile on their face. The friendship between Alberto Moreno, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino is always fun to watch and very welcome.
However, alongside that joy we need a bastard or two. Players who gets their joy from winning. And take it personally when we lose or, as is more common this season, draw.
No.5 – Perseverance
It is a long season and it is only half the way over. Liverpool are fourth in the league and in the last 16 of the Champions League. That is some progress even if it isn’t the leaps forward we would hope for. There is still a lot to play for and one quality they need in abundance is perseverance.
I wouldn’t say this team is lacking it. Last season as a title challenge fizzled out in January the team easily could have slumped to miss out on a Champions League placing. They made it. Just.
They way Liverpool responded to the poor result at Spurs – a thirteen game unbeaten streak, and counting – has been good to see. But we need to find a new level of determination and focus to get where we want to be.
If Liverpool get to the Champions League semi-finals, finish third and win the FA Cup we would all take that as a successful season of clear progress. It is not everything we want but it is moving in the direction.
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In order to get to where we want to go we need to keep going. That may seem obvious but it is so easily to a season slip when the big dreams – a title (or even a challenge) – have faded long from view.