23 Aug 2016 14:16:07
I think a lot of people are going a bit OTT with the criticism of Henderson and the midfield.

If you look at all the goals we have conceded so far there is not a lot they could have done. And this is not a rant, more just my analysis of the goals we've conceded.

1st vs Arsenal it is easy to blame Lallana for losing the ball but he barely took a single touch. It was just a good tackle from Coquelin. The main problem was that Moreno ran too early and then couldn't get back into position in time.

2nd vs Arsenal is just a blatant fault on a few players. Clyne for getting walked past, Lallana for shying out of the tackle, and Lovren for not closing down the shot or at least looking at it. Had Lovren kept his eye on the shot he had time to block it properly. Then you have Mignolet with his poor reactions not even making an attempt at a save.

3rd vs Arsenal is a joint issue. Firstly we have Clyne back to his old habits giving away a needless free kick in a dangerous area. At that stage though, we have time still to organise and defend the set piece. But we simply didn't deal with it. I don't understand this modern day obsession of shirt pulling or blocking runs off. For me a good defender attacks the ball if it goes near his man and gets it clear. We didn't do that and this is one goal that Mignolet probably can't be expected to stop.

1st vs Burnley. There is not really anyone to blame but Clyne. He concedes possession in a very bad area when he really wasn't under pressure and everyone else just went in to melt down. The only player who reacted to it was Henderson. He stood up his man and cut his options down, but Lovren and Klavan completely failed to react and neither got tight enough to Vokes. It wasn't helped though that the defence was so spread out to give people passing options. Clyne caused a panic that was totally avoidable. Then when you analyse the shot, Mignolet really should be doing better. His footwork was so poor that he didn't move across his goal enough to get near the shot.

2nd vs Burnley is just a shambles. We give possession away weakly with Sturridge making a half hearted challenge, they break on us, panic sets in again, Klavan makes a very poor tackle, Milner is in no mans land and Hendo gets left facing up 2 players. He did well to stop them from simply passing it by him and getting in behind, but he gets no support. Klavan was too slow to recover, Lovren made no effort to get across and help, Milner I couldn't even see tracking back, and in the end, Gray just cuts back onto his weaker foot and shoots through both centre backs; Lovren again turning his back on a weak shot. Henderson did everything right there though, he held up the first player, then he didn't dive in and concede a silly free kick (which we know we can't defend from), then he showed Gray onto his weaker foot, but he just didn't get any help. If he had any confidence in his defence or Mignolet, I've no doubt he would've just made a professional foul and taken a yellow. Lucas got a lot of stick for conceding free kicks, but that is part of the job of protecting the defence. If you are over run or outnumbered you just take one for the team. Our midfielders can't do that though because it puts us at more danger of conceding. Then you have Clyne, Moreno, Milner and Can who all dive in and concede needless free kicks, often when the opposition player is actually going away from our goal anyway.

So yeah, all of the goals have ultimately come from individual errors. Which brings me to my next point; how is this Klopps fault? We literally just needed Clyne to be more composed, Moreno to be less reckless, Lovren to face up to a shot and Mignolet to actually make a save and we would be sitting pretty right now, probably level on points with Everton and Spurs. Maybe even level with the Manchester clubs as Burnley might not have been so compact had they not grabbed a goal 2 minutes into the game.

The fact is, Moreno will not be playing many more games for us this year, Karius will replace Mignolet in a month, and Matip or Gomez will replace Lovren. Gomez may even take one of the full back roles.

Odds are we will be stuck with at least one weak full back. But I cannot think of one team in the league who don't have at least one problem position. So let's not cry about it. We have solved some of our problem positions, they just haven't had a chance to play yet. So saying "we haven't fixed anything" is just a blatant lie.

This isn't about being happy with our defence, it is about not slagging players like Henderson and not making out that our squad is in such a dire position. We have options when we get a few players back from injury so just have a little patience, and keep the faith lads. Calling Klopp out already is just madness.

1.) 23 Aug 2016
23 Aug 2016 15:56:50
Completely agree MK. You also need to give credit to Vokes, it was a well taken goal. I think the backlash against Klopp is the team he chose, a midfield 3 of Lallana, Hendo, and Georgie lacks defense and although Hendo can play a holding role it's not the role that he is best in. Regardless, like I said originally it was just an off day for us and well played tactically and well executed by Burnley.

2.) 23 Aug 2016
23 Aug 2016 15:57:56
Klopp picks the team and, in large part, chooses who plays and who is also signed (Klavan is a Klopp signing) . If he thought both left-back and right-back were absolutely critical to change (due to weakness) he should have made it known - instead he OK'd a 25million luxury purchase of a midfielder we do not need who is not good enough. Klopp is not the only one at fault but stop pretending he's infallable - he has made mistakes and they need to stop. The transfer window is still open - doubtful we will sign anyone now - and it shows our intent: Happy with mediocrity.

3.) 23 Aug 2016
23 Aug 2016 16:32:52
How can you call Klopps team selection a mistake? He has no other options right now in defense because either the club didn't back him and get in Chilwell etc or the players he got in are still injured or settling in.

Who are you Seano, to tell Klopp he got his tactics wrong? In your opinion the Hendo, Lallana, Wijnaldum midfield won't ever work. But forgive me for giving it a chance, and Klopp a chance to get it right. Klopp has tried something new at the start of this season. If nothing else that shows he is willing to try new tactics and not be shackled by his own stubborness or "philosophy" as Brendan would've said.

If in 10-15 games time this team still isn't working and Klopp is refusing to admit he has got it wrong, then you can all complain.

It is astonishing how many armchair managers there are nowadays. You all think that you know better than Klopp based on 2 games at the very start of his first full season.

Klavan had a bad game against Burnley. I know that. Does that make him a bad player though? I think not. Wijnaldum keeps taking flak despite actually having done nothing glaringly wrong yet. Sure he hasn't instantly taken to this new role, but he also hasn't been terrible. Lallana will almost undoubtedly be pushed out of the side by either Grujic or Can as the season progresses as well. We have Mane to come back in when fit, Matip to return, Gomez on the brink of a return, and Klopp has just said he isn't ruling out signing another player! So again, chill!

4.) 23 Aug 2016
23 Aug 2016 16:34:30
I'm unequivocal in my support of Henderson as Captain and as a player who should be on the field for every game possible. But I constantly get this creepy feeling that there is something physical that is still not right with him. The body language on the field is not the same as before. Has the injury re-appeared? Is he stressed mentally because of the armband responsibilities or is there something else? He's not anywhere near the form of 2013/ 14, but I'm willing to be patient that it comes back at some point. One thing that is very clear is that Klopp trusts him immensely, and that is why he gave him the holding role ahead of anybody else (Lucas, Stewart etc) .

5.) 23 Aug 2016
23 Aug 2016 17:03:56
Mk you need. to climb down off that high horse fella, klopp will and has made mistakes and he will make many more. Wijnaldum lallana and henderson just does not work and never will despite you thinking the sun shines out klopps derrier.

Will he find a solution? I have no doubt he will but he had options to play a different line up that would have given more protection to the back four you say he had no choice to play.

Btw i still love klopp but he is making the same mistakes as brenda playing players out of position.

I am not an over reactionist like some on here that want a whole new team after burnley but klopp does need to rethink what je is doing otherwise we are in for another inconsistent season.

6.) 23 Aug 2016
23 Aug 2016 17:38:35
Klopp has made many mistakes including the EL final against Sevilla. The faster he learns the better the results would be. Sending all the 10 players to attack leaving a poor man Hendo and 2 CB's for any counter is a stupid thinking at best. School boy error.
He sets up the team, sets up the tactics and he is accountable for the results. I wouldn't blame any players as they had no idea how to break a team who park their two busses. I hope Klopp does.

7.) 23 Aug 2016
23 Aug 2016 18:05:50
MK I'm sorry but I disagree. You can give Hendo credit for chasing people down and harassing but he is slow to tackle plus if he was defensively minded he wouldn't have to chase down because he would of read the game and been there already. It's what a DM does. Hendo is a box to box mid, Lallana and Wijnaldum are AM so there wasn't any support for Hendo either. When Burnley attacked, more often than not it was far too easy. This has been a problem for a few years now, attack heavy midfield. You need a solid base first in my opinion.

8.) 24 Aug 2016
24 Aug 2016 16:07:09
Henderson is just an easy target because many didn`t want him here to begin with and I admit, I was one of them. He proved himself to me with his work ethic and determination when he refused to go to Fulham and stayed, worked hard and is now captain. That is how you measure a man. his ability on the pitch is quality especially if you watch he things he actually does which is, pick out a pass, and has very good passing range. People think he should be making Hollywood passes like SG and Alonso BUT if that`s what they are looking for, they`d better go support Bayern and LA Galaxy because that`s not his game.

As for Klopp, I love him as a man and a coach but he`d better wise up and fix his errors because frankly, his selection and tactics were to blame first and foremoat. Clyne made his mistake and Mingo didn`t even attempt to make a save on the goals, I get that BUT Lallana and Wiji offer nothing in midfield which exposes Hendo who isn`t not even a DM. Studge should not start until he`s fit and he needs to do that with U23`s like Ings is doing hence, Origi needs to start with Hendo and can in midfield. That is my prob with him right now and he needs to fix it because teams will park the bus against us more often.