Carragher the weak link for Reds
The performance against Spurs was not Liverpool’s best, but Rodgers would argue his players deserved the luck that has seldom been with them in matches against the top sides.
It was an inversion of the usual Liverpool story in that the opponent had more possession and shots on goal, but Liverpool won the match.
Spurs knew it would not be their day after Gareth Bale shot and missed with a free-kick from fully 45 yards, a worrying sign that perhaps his spectacular achievements in recent weeks have started to play tricks on his mind.
Spurs had just put together a 12-match unbeaten run and that is why they will almost certainly be playing in the Champions League again next season. Liverpool have already left it too late to challenge for that competition. They have little chance of passing three of the four sides in the places above them. However, with next season in mind, Liverpool fans are already getting excited about the promising form of the swift-footed Philippe Coutinho and the pace of Daniel Sturridge, who look like they could form a formidable attacking unit provided Liverpool can retain the brilliance of Luis Suarez, who seems equally effective whether he is played up front as an attacking midfielder or on either wing.
The problem for Liverpool is that no long-term improvement will be possible as long as they are undermined by atrocious defending. Yesterday was the 15th time this season they had conceded two or more goals in the league, meaning they’ve let in two or more in more than half their matches. Liverpool’s 3-1 win against Zenit St Petersburg was notable for two things — the brilliant individual performance of Luis Suarez, and his anguished reaction at full-time when he reacted to confirmation of the away-goals defeat by doubling up in apparent physical pain.
How does Suarez feel when his moments of inspiration are repaid with crass defensive errors? For much of yesterday’s game it looked like it would be the usual story for Suarez, who gave Liverpool the lead in the first half with a brilliantly-taken goal. While Jan Vertonghen’s equaliser was a well-timed run to meet a superbly-flighted cross from Bale, his second was handed to him by three Liverpool errors in a second — a weak defensive header from Carragher, an inadvertent touch by Agger, and a slip from Glen Johnson, who might have closed the space down.
Rodgers’ response was to write furiously in his notepad — why does he write notes in the second half? You could argue there is not much a manager can do about individual errors in defence but his continued selection of Carragher ahead of Martin Skrtel becomes more puzzling by the week. Earlier in the season, Carragher told the press he wasn’t upset about not playing much because Agger and Skrtel were now better players than him and deserved to be in the team.
Every statistical measure backs up that judgement. Skrtel makes more passes, tackles and interceptions, wins more aerial duels and even scores more goals than Carragher.
The Slovak has made bad individual errors, most memorably against Manchester City when his backpass let Carlos Tevez in to equalise in Rodgers’ first match at Anfield, but Carragher has hardly been immaculate: his blunder against Zenit effectively knocked Liverpool out of Europe.
Carragher, who started his career as a midfielder, has never been a hugely commanding defender in the air (Sami Hyypia tended to look after that side of their partnership) and his aerial ability is not improving with age.
Liverpool’s vulnerability when Spurs put high balls into the box suggested Skrtel would strengthen the team, but the fact he is being left out even though Carragher has announced he will retire in the summer doesn’t augur well for his long-term prospects under this manager. A new central defender looks like being Rodgers’ priority for the summer.
If all else fails, maybe he should bring Andy Carroll back from West Ham and convert him into a centre-back. When the ball is in the air, Carroll is by far the most dominant player in Europe’s top five leagues, winning 10 aerial duels per match according to whoscored.com: no other player averages more than eight.
Rodgers played Stewart Downing as a left-back earlier in the season and Downing is now playing a lot better; even if he is still mocked by his own supporters (who informed Gareth Bale he was “just a shit Stewart Downing”) you can see that the nervous diffidence of his first season has given way to determination and purpose.
Maybe Rodgers will never make a centre-half of Carroll, but who knows, telling him to start thinking of himself as a defender might provoke him into scoring some goals.
