Rollercoasters are the devil’s work.
Take it from somebody who is petrified of heights and, specifically, falling thirty metres towards the pavement, flailing and feeling sick and completely begrudged of your humanity while a thousand tourists surround your body all wondering if you’re okay and you clearly aren’t because you’re dead…..
Definitely the work of Satan.
The Liverpool Defence Rollercoaster
But there does exist something much, much worse than rollercoasters. Specifically, something that makes the idea of rolling around in a loop-de-loop at a thousand miles an hour in a plastic box filled with the deafening screams of a dozen people seem like a cosy night in, whilst reading a book with a cup of hot chocolate, in Finland – safe as safe can be.
That horrifying beacon into the mind of true horror…is Liverpool’s defence.
Sitting down and watching Liverpool is a meticulously perilous affair. There is no such thing as just “flicking on the TV” and watching the men in Red casually. As soon as Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge, or Luis Suarez get on the ball, your entire body lurches forward in pure anticipation, ready to convulse in sheer pleasure over the incredible skills and silky footwork.
Then the ball finds itself in Liverpool’s defence. And chaos ensues.
Exaggeration aside, Liverpool was, at times, defensively solid. In the first three games, with a key absence in the side in the form of the mercurial Luis Suarez, they kept three clean sheets.
However, 50 goals found their way past the Liverpool back five (including the occasionally error prone Simon Mignolet) in the next 34 games, and it can be argued that this is the key statistic that defined their season. The 50 goals that pierced the back of the net were the Achilles heel of a Liverpool side seemingly destined to lift that coveted trophy once more. But it wasn’t to be.
So why? How did it all fall apart at the back?
Well, there were shining lights in the Liverpool back four. Mamadou Sakho firmly advertised himself as one of the top centre halves of the future – backed up by strong performances for France in the world cup. John Flanagan stole the hearts of Liverpool fans across the globe, and Martin Skrtel had his moments. Overall however, injury and lack of any perceived quality permeated the defence. Jose Enrique, Martin Kelly, Daniel Agger, Sebastian Coates, all suffered from injury niggles at some point in the season, and when he returned from injury, Glen Johnson made supporters wish he’d stayed on the sidelines to be honest. Martin Skrtel was another culpable factor at the back, despite his much improved second portion of the season.
Overall, the picture was bleak. But fear not, because hope does exist on the horizon.
Dejan Lovren is the first of multiple harbingers of hope, of a better future filled with less schisms and more solidity in the Liverpool defence. Not since Jamie Carragher in his prime have we had a leader dictate how our back four should be moving at all times, though now Rodgers has found his man, the man to dictate terms to the inexperienced but aggressive John Flanagan and the hopeless but…..still hopeless Glen Johnson.
Not that Glen Johnson will be a prominent factor in the Liverpool lineup next season, with Javier Manquillo – Atletico Madrid’s exciting young right back filled with endless potential, not to mention potent established ability – touted for a two-year loan move with an option to buy (per Andy Hunter of the Guardian). Javier Manquillo is an incredibly astute piece of business for Liverpool, and once again furthers the philosophy that Brendan Rodgers is attempting to instil in his own Liverpool side; of developing diamonds by grooming the roughness out of them.
Javier Manquillo, for starters, is an 18 year-old fullback who burst onto the first team scene after impressing thoroughly for Atletico-B and the Spanish National U-20 side. Manquillo is much more prevalent when it comes to offensive duties; ever-ready for an overlap, bursting down the by-line, running at players and offering one two’s. That is not to say, however, that his defensive capabilities are frail, in fact he is solid in the tackle and comfortable in his positional work. Manquillo’s main strength, however, lies in his athleticism, with a combination of strength, pace, and power on the ball. During the U20 World Cup last year he combined superbly with Gerard Deulofeu on the right flank and was praised for his efforts, shining as one of the hottest defensive prospects of the tournament.
In contrast to the hot prospect of Javier Manquillo, Dejan Lovren is a man that Liverpool fans have been craving ever since the capitulation of Selhurst Park in which the ₤4.5 million pound Dwight Gayle was made to look like ₤100 million pound Gareth Bale. Finally, in Dejan Lovren, the healing process has begun.
After succeeding in forging his own path to the shores of Merseyside, along with Southampton teammates Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, Lovren is arguably the most important signing of the summer thus far, solidifying the cracks so evident in Liverpool’s defence. As seen in the image below (courtesy of Squawka’s comparison matrix) Dejan can match it with the best Premier League centre halves.
He makes more interceptions per ninety minutes than all four competitors, he is second only in percentage of tackles won to Vincent Kompany – who many herald as one of the strongest centre halves in the tackle in the world – and though his blocks are not quite up to standard, the two hulking defensive midfielders ahead of him can take some of the credit for that; having Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama ahead of you will stop most long shots in their tracks. Overall, the picture is a bright one for Liverpool’s latest pickup.
Though it won’t end there, as Brendan Rodgers has stated himself (per David Maddock of the Mirror) that two more additions to stabilise the rollercoaster are needed, and they may come in the form of Alberto Moreno and previously mentioned Javier Manquillo. Where Manquillo seems wrapped up (according to both the Guardian and the Times) Moreno remains an elusive, but present target. Prior to the sale of Luis Suarez, Liverpool were held back by Sevilla’s demands of upwards of ₤20 million, though now they possess the funds, they seem to be back in the hunt (per ESPN’s Mike Whalley and the Guardian’s Andy Hunter) and with the funds they now look set to relaunch their pursuit of the young Spanish left back. Coupled with his compatriot on the far side and the big Croatian in the centre of defence, it seems as if Liverpool can finally look towards a future where they’re not fretting over their defensive frailties every time the ball comes near the likes of Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel.
So, with that glimmer of hope in every Liverpool fan’s eyes, we can pray that this rollercoaster ride is finally at its end.
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Main Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images
