Defensive Fragility

[localny]

It's been commented elsewhere that it's become easier to score against us in the last month.

We do seem to be leaking goals, more than before. We do have one of the best records in the league, currently, but the concern is that is changing.

Areas of concern:

TAA - Not as tight a RB as you would want defensively
ROBBO - Possibly on the decline, error prone of late
CENTER BACKS - No cover. Just 2 currently fit. 2 others out for weeks.
ALI - not as reassuring with the ball at his feet as Kelleher.

I get that in the modern game, it's everyone's job to defend, but we seem to be easier to be much score against, of late.

Is there a problem? What's the solution?

 

[localny]

Last 12 games

Arsenal - conceded 11
Newcastle - conceded 11
Forrest -conceded 13
Bournemouth 13
Pool - conceded 15
Chelsea - conceded 16
.
.
.
.

City - conceded 21

 

[bluebell]

Its good to see people reading from the same hymn sheet as me.... Despite being called a basket case, I have called out the defence, last season. Our FBs do cause problems and Konate and VVD have to bail them out.
We all know we missed Konate, had he been fit, I dare say the gulf between us and the Arse would be far greater

 

[binomial]

I see it as nothing more than teams converting their chances more recently than they were in the beginning of the season. Ali and Kelleher were both at their best to prevent us conceding - something which Arne had persistently come out with in his post match interviews.

Worth mentioning our whole back line bar Virg and Kelleher has suffered injuries. Others are mostly down to individual errors, nothing that can be done about that - players aren't robots.

 

[Squiggles]

We looked solid at the back when Konate was fit and in form the side. Once he’s back up to speed, we’ll tighten up defensively. Bradley can also offer more stability when needed, provided he follows clear instructions and Tsimi can do likewise. They all just need some minutes in their legs.

Left-back remains a concern, but that’s an issue that will likely persist until the summer transfer window.

The key is for our midfield to adapt to the defence behind them and respond effectively to overloads down the right. On certain occasions, the forwards also need to drop deeper to help the team stay compact, especially when key players are missing. This lingering habit from Klopp’s tenure—relying on the centre-backs and Alisson to bail them out—needs to change. With a weakened defence, there’s only so much they can do.

 

[Brizzle]

Ibu back will be huge (although he was bullied by Dom for the Spurs goal - he is clearly rusty) and we need to freshen up the full back.

We are playing 4 of the same back 5 from 2018 season. Whilst it offers consistency, it also means predictability for opponents, and fatigue for those players who have rarely rotated for all of those 6 seasons. It is the priority area for investment in my mind.

 

[jan]

Given this season's performances I'd play Endo at CB before Quansah