It's a whole combination of factors to be honest and to suggest hiring Steve Clarke again is missing the point, as his tactics are completely at odds with what Rodgers has in mind for Liverpool.
To begin with, it's obvious that with fullbacks bombing forward all the time, then you are going to be exposed. Much has been made of Johnson's inability to defend, but even consistent performers like Flanagan are not world class defenders (yet...), as his performance against Newcastle at the close of last season showed.
Also, I think everything that has been said about our centre backs has been said! Skrtel, Agger, Sakho and Toure all found themselves as first choice starters at some point, and as a result, it's no surprise there is going to be a lack of coherency, leadership (by which Carra gave) and understanding with the constant turn around in defence. In fairness to Rodgers, it's probably down to the fact that they are not fully ready (Sakho) or that they are just not performing to the standards that they were/are capable of (Skrtel, Agger and Toure). That said, I think it's essential for Sakho to start - he's young, and perhaps sometimes a bit reckless, but on form he is unstoppable. With age and experience comes quality, and I fully expect this to occur with Sakho.
In addition to this, the communication between Mignolet and the centre backs needs to improve drastically. Between defence and goalkeeper, there seems to be a lack of confidence in being able to deal with difficult situations, leading to miscommunication and ultimately a massive f**k up with the opposition scoring. If confidence is a key attribute for a keeper, then expect our keeper to have none if there is no consistency in defence. But Mignolet could rectify this by being a bit more authoritanian to his defence, but likewise with Sakho, surely a bit more experience at the club would do wonders. Is it essential for Sakho and Mignolet to have great seasons this year? Yes, because we are in the Champions League and want to compete for the league again, but if they don't turn it on instantly, then we shouldn't give up hope and sell them because it took Henderson until his third season to show what he's capable of (and likewise, Allen with the second half of last season - a player who I expect big things from next season as he continues to grow).
Lastly, the deeper lying midfielders also have a big role to play in defence - Gerrard and Henderson most notably. While these two players have been our most effective deep lying midfielders, there is a tendency for them to not be the most effective deputies in defence. I say deputies in defence because this is what they are when the full backs go bombing forward on occasions and these two sit back a bit for cover. Now Gerrard is not the most mobile player these days, and Henderson, for all his great pressing, usually sits a bit higher than Gerrard. Once Gerrard is exposed, he is often beaten due to his lack of pace. His lack of pace today also hinders his pressing abilities. Now considering that our fullbacks aren't the best defenders, and our holding midfielder isn't the greatest of defenders either shows just how vulnerable the centre backs are. I'm not trying to defend the centre backs from some truly horrific showings at times, but the more the centre backs are exposed, then the more they are likely to make mistakes.
I can see Emre Can being moulded as Gerrard's successor in that position. He tackles really well and also covers a lot of ground quickly, giving him some great pressing ability. Interestingly, often Allen came on for us last season and sured up a result. I may be going on a bit too much about pressing here, but Allen is a great presser and he times it brilliantly very often, showing great awareness and anticipation of the ball. It often takes a cool head to stabilise everything and I think Joe Allen is one of those rare men in our squad, because even Gerrard can be susceptible to losing his head and becoming a bit wild when things don't seem to be going our way. This is not a rant saying Gerrard should be dropped, because there is nobody better in our team who starts the attacks which we watched in awe last season, it's just about finding a balance, and I feel the added depth could give us the balance and the flexibility by which Brendan can change things around if matches begin to turn against us.
Whatever the case, massive improvements needs to be made at full back and holding midfield to sure up the defence. Central defence is an issue but even if issues at full back and the holding midfield position can be ironed out, then I genuinely believe we can still get away with our central defence - who we all know can perform better.
Logged