“I don’t think they have the pride it takes to be a defender.”
Asmir Begovic has taken the Troy Deeney approach to football analysis. Deeney said that Arsenal lacked the “cojones” required to win tough games in the Premier League following Watford’s 2-1 victory over the Gunners earlier this month. Begovic hasn’t quite gone that far with his assessment of Liverpool, but the Bournemouth goalkeeper has said that he doubts the “pride” of Liverpool’s defenders and has questioned how the defence is organised.
Begovic has said that Jurgen Klopp’s defence “seems to be a bit of a mess” at the moment.
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Liverpool came in for a lot of criticism after their 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Sunday. Their defending was so poor that even their own manager couldn’t defend them. “The first goal would not happen if I am on the pitch in my trainers,” Klopp said following the game.
Liverpool have already conceded 16 goals this season, their most after nine games since the 1964/65 season when they finished in seventh place. They’ve conceded 15 goals away from home, which is more than any other team in the league, and more than they let in away from home in the entire 2008/09 season. The club appear to be paying for a failure to upgrade their defence in recent seasons.
Only two teams in the division have faced fewer shots on goal this season, but only five teams have conceded more goals than Liverpool. Klopp’s team have faced 79 shots, conceding 16 goals. Manchester United have faced 86 shots, but have conceded just four goals. Only Arsenal and Crystal Palace have made more errors leading to goals than Liverpool this season.
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Since becoming manager in October 2015, Klopp has spent just £12m on his team’s defence. He was foiled in his pursuit of Virgil van Dijk, and while the Southampton player is evidently an upgrade on the defenders currently available to Liverpool, the issues appear too numerous to be solved by one individual.
Begovic has said that the players at Klopp’s disposal are failing to carry out the very basics of defending, that they’re too preoccupied with going forward and he questioned their “pride” in defending.
“They are not doing the basics of defending and I don’t think they have the pride it takes to be a defender,” Begovic said on Sky Sports show The Debate.
“It is a combination of things – communication, positioning and the desire to defend is lacking for Liverpool. They don’t look organised, they don’t look like they want to defend. I look at some of their players and the first thing is how good they can be on the ball, how they can pass and go forward and how the full backs can attack and join in. I don’t think their first thought is defending.”
Begovic also questioned how the team is organised and Klopp’s decision to rotate goalkeepers.
“I think as a unit they look all over the place and there could be many reasons. Confidence once again is low and there are people making bad decisions so it seems to be a bit of a mess. They are not doing the basics of defending and I don’t think they have the pride it takes to be a defender. I don’t think it’s one thing, I think it’s them as a unit. I don’t think they’re working together and there’s a lack of continuity with the centre-back pairings and the full-backs, I don’t think changing the goalkeepers is helping. I don’t think it is one particular player or one particular thing but everything in that defensive area is going wrong. I’m not sure how much time they spend on it or if they’re being coached. I think generally, in football, the basics of defending are going out of the game and people are not learning them as much.”
You can watch the discussion here:
