It’s not time to panic quite yet. As unnerving as last weekends 1-0 reversal at the hands of Aston Villa was, it’s easy to forget that it’s still early days. This time last season, as pointed out by Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, we were still trying to find our stride. The personal may have changed somewhat, but we’re very much in the same pattern at this stage last year.
Saying we needed to get back on track or other such clichés after the loss to Manchester City at the end of August was a bit premature; approaching the end of September though, it’s not too wide of the mark. Losing to the reigning champions is one thing, but going down to a team like the Villains, with no disrespect to them of course, is always going to require a response no matter where you are in the season — whether a certain Northern Irishman wants to admit it or not.
While the Midlands outfit remain very much our newest bogey team — a term I thought we banished last season — West Ham United, who we visit tomorrow, certainly aren’t. The Reds scored a combined six goals against the Hammers last season as they did the double over the East London outfit, but much like their hosts on Saturday, the Merseysiders are a different team than they were the last time they met.
With a plethora of new faces under his command, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has watched his new look side operate in fits and stutters since the new campaign kicked off with an unconvincing 2-1 win over Southampton at Anfield on opening day. The most glaring difference between the slick side we saw race to the runners-up spot last season and this latest incarnation is their lack of a cutting edge in front of goal. Over the 90-minutes against Villa, the Reds managed only a single shot on target — unacceptable by any stretch of the imagination.
“We’ve had to bring in a lot of new players this summer because of the demands of the Champions League and other competitions, so that naturally takes a little bit of time,” Rodgers told the clubs official website. “I remember this time last year, we were sat in press conferences and the questions I was getting asked were about whether we were going to be able to score goals. We ended up with 101 goals. … I’ve always said by the time the second part of the season comes, we’ll always be stronger and better.”
The fact that it’s not yet the second part of the season won’t be lost on many supporters or West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce for that matter. It’s true that the Hammers haven’t exactly been lighting the league alight, but they’ll be able to take heart from their 2-2 draw against Hull City last time out when they came from behind twice to snatch a point from the Tigers.
New striker Enner Valencia’s 25-yard howler will also give Allardyce something to smile about with the Reds well documented defensive problems — once again on display a they leaked a late goal to Bulgarian side PFC Ludogrets in the Champions League on Tuesday — encouraging for both the Ecuadorian and his boss.
Martin Skrtel may well be fit enough to start when the Reds roll into the Boleyn Ground on Saturday after the experienced defender returning to training this week, but the Hammers boss is more interested what his own defensive will be doing and not who Liverpool decide to field. “That is something we have to think about” said Allardyce when faced with the fact that his side have now conceded at least one goal in every Premier League outing this season. “Attractive football is OK, but you need to have that defensive unit too.”
Barcelona loanee Alex Song could make his full debut for his adopted side as the East London side look to counter the threat poised by Liverpool’s burgeoning attack. Mario Balotelli picked up his first goal in the famous red shirt during the Champions League win on Tuesday and he’ll no doubt be looking to kick on from there. Likewise, both Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic, who is expected to be restored to the starting eleven after sitting out the European foray through suspension, will be looking to get off the mark since making big money moves to Merseyside.
It’s still early in the season, but the last time Liverpool visited London they turned Tottenham Hotspur over with three unanswered goals. After last weekends dour affair, numbers will be only thing that’s going to help distract from the squads bedding in period. While the media and many less impatient sections of our support will be looking for those numbers to come in the form of goals, I’ll take mine in minutes on the pitch for the new guys — and if that comes with a healthy bump in the points column at the end of it, all the better.
–Steven
