In defence of the defence

It’s funny how a good or bad season changes your valuation of players. I think back to 2001-02 when I thought we had a really strong squad. A year later I was writing off largely the same group of players and believing wholesale changes were needed.

In 2004-05 Liverpool conceded 41 league goals en route to finishing 5th. Their back four regularly featured Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise and Traore. At that time, you would have said we had a weak back four with Carragher being the only defender that wouldn’t need upgrading. A year later and largely the same set of defenders conceded just 25 league goals as the team finished third and a whopping 24 points better off. What made such a difference? It was probably a combination of Reina replacing Dudek and Kirkland; better protection from the players in front of the back four, and those defenders (indeed the whole team) better adjusting to Rafa’s defensive tactics including the controversial zonal marking from set pieces. Going into the 2006-07 season, I felt we had a strong defensive despite minimal changes in personnel over that three year period (and apart from Finnan) the other players had been available for at least five seasons.

At the start of the 2008-09 season, I thought we had a decent defence with Carragher and Skrtel in the middle, Agger returning from injury (again) and Hyypia as back up. I thought Arbeloa and Aurelio were decent squad players but expected/hoped that Degen and Dossena would be replacing the departed Finnan and Riise as first choice full-backs. Instead, the two ‘D’s turned out to be duds while Arbeloa and Aurelio both had fantastic seasons. We conceded just 27 goals and gave our strongest title challenge in the Premiership era. Consequently, going into last season, I had few concerns about our defence. I thought the replacement of Hyypia with Kyrgiakos would weaken us but given that Hyypia was fourth choice centre-back, that didn’t concern me much. Meanwhile I thought Johnson replacing Arbeloa would improve us. I did think we needed a second right-back for cover but otherwise I thought the team’s weaknesses lay elsewhere. Lo and behold, we began the season woefully from a defensive point of view and, despite improvement, never looked as defensively sound as in previous seasons. Now I hear a fair few Reds discussing the new season and suggesting our defence gives them cause for concern.

I understand those concerns. Carra looks incapable of stopping any player with pace (legally, at least) and his decision-making has begun to look suspect. Agger looks world class but question marks hang over his ability to avoid injury. Skrtel suffered a serious loss of form and confidence during last season and, despite improving towards the season’s end, needs to convince us he can put it behind him and regain his best form. Kyrgiakos proved me wrong last season and is certainly a useful player – particularly against the Stokes and Blackburns of the Premiership - but he is far from world class and gets found out by decent footballing teams, especially in Europe. Then at right-back, Johnson is far better going forward than defending and, while Kelly looks a real prospect (Darby doesn’t), he is still unproven and it would be a risk to rely on him if Johnson were to suffer long-term injury or loss of form. At left-back, we have re-signed Aurelio but after missing most of last season through injury, big question marks hang over his ability to be a fixture in the team this season. While Insua’s move to Fiorentina fell through, the expectation is that he will still be sold in which case there is no reserve left-back and the only option would be to play another defender out of position.

The suggestion in the media is that we are still pursuing a new left-back (although links with Luke Young, Paul Konchesky and Wayne Bridge are hardly inspiring) so the options may improve before the transfer window closes.

However, recent history shows that the same unit that underperformed last campaign can radically improve in the following season so I won’t be surprised if we see a much stronger defensive unit this time around.

For me, the key is Jamie Carragher and how Roy Hodgson deals with him. If the player can surprise me and, like Hyypia, enjoy an Indian summer at the end of his career, he could cement that defensive unit and make us extremely difficult to penetrate. However, if, as I believe, he is no longer capable of top level performances, Hodgson needs to be prepared to relegate him to the role of back-up and given Agger and Skrtel the nod. Is Hodgson strong enough to take such a big decision? Let’s hope he doesn’t have to.