3 Targets for Liverpool to Hit in 2016
Liverpool already reached something of a milestone by sealing their place in this season's League Cup final with a 6-5 penalty-shootout win over Stoke City on Tuesday night, and throughout 2016, manager Jurgen Klopp will be keen to continue the strong progress made since his October arrival.
Having guided the Reds to their first major cup final in four seasons in just under four months in charge, Klopp can now look to build for success for the rest of the campaign and beyond.
In identifying targets for 2016, the German will undoubtedly look closely toward squad development and the progress of individual talents, as he told the Independent's Ian Herbert at the beginning of January: "I have only one understanding of development and of making success and that’s by going step by step."
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
With Klopp's approach in mind, here are three targets for Liverpool to hit in 2016.
Iron Out Defensive Issues
Days before Liverpool's League Cup triumph over Stoke, Carrow Road played host to a 5-4 thriller between the Reds and Norwich City in a game that perfectly highlighted one of Klopp's major concerns this year.
In conceding four goals, Liverpool displayed their ineptitude in defence, and speaking to reporters, including the Guardian's Andy Hunter on Monday afternoon, he explained how he was looking to address this after intensive talks with his squad:
"It is not about the formation because we changed the formation, it is not always about the quality of the set plays it is about what we are doing.
We defended the first ball well but then struggled with the second or third so that’s a normal reaction.
We were fully concentrated in defending the situation but then we closed the book too early.
"
Klopp alluded to a strong individual focus in the penalty area but a lack of cohesion within his back four; Liverpool's defenders struggle to operate as a unit, as Stoke winger Marko Arnautovic's goal on Tuesday night proved.
Weaving his way through an unbalanced back line, Arnautovic latched onto a Bojan Krkic pass to fire beyond Simon Mignolet. And though the Austrian was in an offside position when he received the ball, a failure to track his run and the consequent discord in the defensive line gave the linesman a difficult decision to make.
Centre-backs Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho were at odds with each other despite both boasting considerable experience as top-level defenders, while full-backs Jon Flanagan and Alberto Moreno endured similar struggles.
Whether Liverpool need a leader to come to the fore or Klopp needs to focus heavily on defensive work in training, addressing his side's defensive issues—resulting in conceding more goals (32) than any other team in the Premier League's top half so far this season—should be made a priority in 2016.
Establish a Strong Spine
Taking to Instagram at the beginning of September, former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard paired a picture of the starting lineup from the Reds' 4-0 win at home to Real Madrid in the 2009 Champions League with one word: "Spine."
In recalling one of the most memorable performances of the 21st century for the Anfield-based side, Gerrard touched upon a key failing within the current squad.
The 2008/09 campaign saw Rafa Benitez regularly field a strong core of Pepe Reina, Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Gerrard and Fernando Torres—players who could be trusted to produce a high level of performance on a consistent basis, as evidenced by that season's close-fought title challenge.
At present, as a result of poor recruitment and persistent injury problems, Klopp is unable to call upon a similar unit.
Sakho and Daniel Sturridge could provide the German with a defensive leader and a top-level striker, but both have suffered from regular injuries during their time on Merseyside, while the low quality of Simon Mignolet and Lucas Leiva, the fledgling partnership of Emre Can and Jordan Henderson and the hit-and-miss form of Philippe Coutinho leave Liverpool worryingly fragile in terms of foundations.
Carragher referenced this in November 2014, telling Sky Sports "there [are] no men in the team."
Klopp inherited a technically adept, but physically and mentally weak side when he joined Liverpool toward the end of 2015, and he will undoubtedly look to address this throughout 2016.
By signing 6'3" midfielder Marko Grujic in January and, according to German publication Bild (h/t the Liverpool Echo), targeting Borussia Monchengladbach's aggressive central midfielder Granit Xhaka, Klopp is seemingly doing so—and this must continue.
Find a Regular Goalscorer
A key player within Benitez's successful Liverpool side was Spanish striker Torres, who over three-and-a-half seasons with the club scored 65 goals in 102 league games, according to LFCHistory.net.
Though Torres' career took a nosedive following his move to Chelsea in January 2011, his output in front of goal makes him one of the most cherished centre-forwards in the club's history, and while both Sturridge and the sensational Luis Suarez have since taken up his mantle, the absence of a regular goalscorer at this stage is glaring.
With Sturridge a long-term absentee and Christian Benteke, Danny Ings and Divock Origi all struggling for form or fitness, the onus has fallen upon Brazilian No. 10 Roberto Firmino in recent weeks.
While Firmino has scored five goals and notched four assists in his eight appearances in Klopp's attacking line so far this season, the former Hoffenheim star is still relatively unproven as a centre-forward.
For Liverpool to improve in 2016, Klopp will need to find a regular goalscorer.
Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
