Liverpool’s concern for this season was the midfield.
Five games later and those concerns have become a harsh reality, with the lowest points total in the first six games of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool tenure to date.
James Milner, Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho and new signing Arthur are the only fit options to complement the only ‘first choice’ option in Fabinho.
In the Merseyside derby, the midfield consisted of Fabinho flanked by the two boys.
Milner was the only other bona fide option, but with a Champions League game just days away, his inclusion in a blood-and-thunder derby was unlikely; if he had played from the beginning, it was unlikely that he could line up against Napoli.
Unsurprisingly, the gamble in midfield backfired, allowing Everton to gain more than a foothold while Carvalho in particular struggled.
A makeshift midfield (albeit with excellent individual talents) with two inexperienced youngsters would probably never dominate in Goodison’s pressure cooker environment.
Two seasons ago, a similar injury occurred when we lost all of our central defense for most of the season. He not only affected our season, he torpedoed it.
The defensive shuffle back then was a combination of bad injuries and bad luck. No one could have foreseen the unfortunate sequence of events that devastated our bottom line.
It resulted in a patched-up team unable to compete at the elite level and, although we finished third, the point total of 69 (17 off the beat) that included nine losses and nine draws was evidence of the impact of those defensive issues.
Foreseeable
The current midfield situation is different in that, rather than bad luck, it was much more predictable.
It is well known that Liverpool is a club focused on sports science and statistics. The club’s statisticians analyze the factors to the millimeter and it has undoubtedly been a key element of our recent success both on the pitch and in the transfer market.
Given that, it makes the current situation somewhat perplexing.
Even using the most basic appearance and injury stats, the warning signs were there:
Thiago Alcantara has averaged 25 league games per season for the last seven seasons at both Liverpool and Bayern (66% of games). Alex Oxlade Chamberlain has averaged 19 games per season in his five seasons as a Red. Naby Keita has also averaged 19 games per season as a Red (both 50% of games). Curtis Jones has averaged 15 games per season in his three seasons as a first-team player (39% of games). Our most consistent senior midfielder, and currently the only healthy one, Fabinho has averaged 29 league games per season as a Red (76% of games).
The other options in midfield when the season started were two 19-year-olds, one 32-year-old and one 36-year-old.
An additional factor that surely should have been a consideration when looking at team depth is the condensed nature of the 2022/2023 season.
Unlike “normal” seasons where Champions League matches are spread out over the season, this time the pre-world cup season meant two matches a week would be a reality from from early September.
Overall, the statistics, player profiles and rigorous schedule said, with a high degree of probability, that there was a genuine need for midfield reinforcement(s).
For whatever reason (and it’s an assumption on either side as to exactly why), there were no midfield signings.
how is it affecting us
As we all know, the midfield is the ‘engine room’ of any team.
Powering the attack, protecting the defense and dominating the midfield are the three essential components of any top-class midfield.
In a Jurgen Klopp team, the midfield takes on increased importance as the high pressure of a mobile and hard-working midfield helps to ‘smother’ the opposition, forcing them back and having a hard time escaping their own half.
How many times has an opposing team panicked and been forced to make mistakes in their final third that resulted in a trademark Liverpool goal?
The fact that we invariably win the ball so high up the pitch has the added benefit that strikers are given far more ammunition and opportunities to influence play, hence our incredible goalscoring feats during the Klopp years.
This midfield approach of giving the opposition little or no time on the ball has the added benefit of offering our defense superior protection as the opposition midfield is forced back leaving their attackers without adequate support. . The ‘ball out’ for attackers often had little effect as our defense handled the limited threat posed with ease.
With these dynamics in play, it also means that our full-backs, attacking full-backs by design, can play further up the pitch, giving the opposition the added headache that our wing backs are another major source of creativity.
So with our engine room currently depleted, cut and changed on a routine basis, it’s affecting both our attack flow and defensive stability; in other words, it’s having an effect on the entire flow of the team in all areas of the field.
Domino effect
Statistics show that Salah is seeing less of the ball and is taking far fewer shots per game than he has in recent seasons. He is well below his usual goal total after six games.
The defense has conceded more goals per game, with many questioning the form of Trent and Virgil van Dijk in particular.
While they’re not the only ones, these are three glaring examples of our most essential players who don’t have the usual impact on gaming. I think there are reasons for this external ‘shape’ of each player and they are exacerbated by the current situation in midfield.
The usual ‘high pressure’ is simply not there, giving opposition midfielders the time and space to play and break the lines with a simple ball over their strikers. This simplistic tactic has undone us too many times this season.
Our defenders on the flanks, whose game is all about improving attack, are out of position more often because the opposition can be more successful in breaking up Liverpool’s play in their final third and playing the ball forward quickly.
Trent, in particular, hasn’t adapted his positional play enough to address this, and even if he does by playing further back, it means he’ll be nullified as an attacking option.
Our attack also suffers as the ball spends less time in the opponent’s final third, giving attackers less opportunity to both build and create. (The Bournemouth game was the exception, as they offered very little in any area of the pitch.)
So rather than being in ‘bad form’ or ‘not doing it’ as I’ve seen some of our players criticize, I think it has a lot more to do with the whole dynamic of the Reds’ style of play. by the limited and diminished options of the center of the field.
Solutions?
Klopp is now in a position where he needs to find solutions. The obvious one, of course, is that we need to get our players back, and luckily Thiago needs that. But even with Thiago, it still leaves him and Fabinho as the only tried and tested midfielders, most likely complemented by the super-talented but inexperienced Elliott.
Outside of these three and because they may not be able to play all games, more solutions are needed.
One potential is bringing in Arthur; a Brazilian international and once a highly sought-after player whose star has fallen in recent seasons. If Klopp’s judgment is of his usual high standard, then we can add an effective wild card to the team, but as of now, it’s an unknown quantity. Time will tell.
The other option, and for me more viable, is a change of formation to 4-2-3-1.
We certainly have the players to suit this formation and having Fabinho, Thiago, Milner and Arthur all capable of playing midfield two in this setup is a potentially attractive proposition. This setup would also offer protection to the centre-backs, allowing Andy Robertson and Trent to continue their forays up front.
It would also mean that we would have Salah, Nunez, Diaz, Bobby, Jota, Elliott and Caravalho, each capable of playing a part in the ‘3-1’ part of the 4-2-3-1.
Those are seven top-class creative and mobile options for the opposition to discover while enhancing the ‘high press’ this team is known for. It also reinforces the level of protection on the back.
The first 20 minutes of the second half in the Merseyside derby when Bobby Firmino replaced the injured Carvalho further convinced me that this is not only a viable option, but probably an effective one in our current situation.
I’ll end by saying that while midfield is a concern, it’s certainly not all doom and gloom. The good news is that there are options and solutions, unlike the defensive scenario of the 2020/21 season.
How Klopp chooses to approach the current midfield conundrum is unknown at this time, but I think it is likely to have a big impact on the success of this season.
