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Sometimes, words spoken in the immediate aftermath are the most revealing.

The sweat had not been wiped from Steven Gerrard when he said Liverpool FC were soft and didn’t deserve anything in Basel. The grimace was yet to depart the face of Brendan Rodgers when he admitted his side were simply failing to meet last season’s standards.

Four wins in their past 12 competitive games (or five, including the shoot-out win over Middlesbrough) comfortably represents the Reds’ worst run under Rodgers since the first four months of the Northern Irishman’s reign.

Then, he was a new manager who was imposing an identity on the club; now, he is in charge of a team who finished second in the Premier League and ready to take on Europe’s best in the Champions League.

That these lofty expectations were set by the manager and his squad is disregarded in the endless, incessant finger-pointing exercise currently being undertaken.

There is no denying Liverpool have struggled so far this season, losing half their league games and facing a tall task to progress in Europe.

But there is also no doubt they are problems which Rodgers and his players are capable of solving.

Here’s five reasons the Reds have started so slowly this season – and five reasons why it should eventually get better.

Why Liverpool have started slowly

The defence

As night follows day, a Liverpool defeat is dissected with rueful glances at the defensive set-up. Conceding 50 goals last season ultimately cost Rodgers’ side the title; this season, it has started in a similar vein, despite the arrival of three new players in the back four.

It isn’t necessarily the volume of goals conceded but rather the painful inevitability of it. Shipping in 13 goals in nine games is problematic, but keeping just one clean sheet in that time is criminal.

This was a team who found ways to win last season, but have somehow emerged as a team who now figures out how to lose.

Of the 13 goals conceded this season, individual blame could be apportioned to nine of them, with four coming from set-pieces – or five, if including Phil Jagielka’s strike.

Individually, the players in his first-choice back line are capable. Alberto Moreno is one of Spain’s most promising defenders, while Javi Manquillo is strong defensively. Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel both proved at times last season how good they can be.

Questions over goalkeeper Simon Mignolet continue to persist, particularly his ability to adapt to a more proactive, aggressive goalkeeper.

How to fix this issue is becoming a common debate at Anfield. Rodgers will hope he finds the answer soon.

Fixtures coming thick and fast

In the first week of October, the Reds have already played nine games this season. That equates to one game every five days.

Last season, the final nine games were played between March 22 and May 11, a total of 50 days - giving an extra half-day of recovery for each game.

Qualification for the Champions League has its pitfalls, too. It was widely accepted Liverpool’s title charge benefited from their sole focus falling upon the league, with no cup distractions following their February FA Cup exit to Arsenal.

This season, they are challenging on four fronts – and despite the hysteria, continue to do so, even if an unlikely title challenge is now even unlikelier.

Liverpool’s summer transfer activity reflected the newly-acquired strain upon the squad. Replacing Luis Suarez with two or three players, and continuing with a squad of 13 or 14 trusted players, was simply not an option.

But it still takes its toll, particularly with injuries. Steven Gerrard hasn’t missed a minute of football in either the league or Europe, while juggling the best interests of Raheem Sterling saw Rodgers drop the ball, and three points, at home to Aston Villa.

Preparation, so perfect in last season’s run-in, can be disrupted. After the 1-1 draw with Everton, the squad travelled to Switzerland on Tuesday. They arrived back in England as soon as possible after the Basel defeat, and now must prepare for West Brom on Saturday. The magical mystery tour continues.

Things like that take time to adjust to, undoubtedly, both on the off the pitch.

Injury list continues to mount

To place sole blame on the physio’s bench would be folly – but still, it continues to crumble under the weight of so many who are sprawled across it.

Daniel Sturridge has missed six games after being Hodgsoned on England duty. Joe Allen, after playing on an Andorra pitch not deemed suitable for last night’s five-a-side on Everton Valley, has been another notable absentee. Emre Can, an option anywhere in midfield, made three assists but then hurt his ankle for Germany U-21s.

The counter-argument comes of how Liverpool spent over £100m to cope with such circumstance. But most teams would be hurt when three players expected to be so pivotal this season are missing for over a month.

Rodgers himself alluded to what injuries have done to his side, stating: “I’m hoping with the return of the players coming back from injury that we will become better.

“It’s important that we get back to playing as a team. We need to ensure we get back to that.”

Liverpool were an incredible team last season, with every player in the starting line-up serving a function; the clichéd well-oiled machine, married with a little bit of tempestuous talent from Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and others. Take out one of those cogs and springs pop out of every orifice.

Without Sturridge, Sterling has less space to run into and Balotelli is given too much attention. Without Allen, Henderson is restricted in how much he can move forward, and counter attacks are slower without his pirouettes on the ball. Without Can, the protection of the defence diminishes.

Losing the individuals has been a problem. Losing those individuals as part of a wider, organised team has been lethal.

Attacking signings yet to click together

Liverpool went into the final weeks of 2013/14 with Victor Moses and Iago Aspas as their options off the bench. Once everybody returns to the fold this season, players such as Coutinho, Lazar Markovic, Adam Lallana or even Sterling could be called upon to rescue a game.

The depth the Reds possess in attacking midfield is salivating. Even with injuries, Rodgers fielded three full internationals from England, Serbia and Brazil behind Balotelli. Lallana, another member of the England squad, followed in the second half.

But it hasn’t clicked yet. That is due to injuries denying Liverpool their first-choice 11, but also because these are players still adapting.

Sterling, Lallana and Coutinho all play best central, but only one can do so, whether that’s in the 4-1-2-1-2 diamond formation or the more traditional 4-3-3.

It also means two of the three will be moved wider, where their influence is not as strong.

Sterling lined up on the left against Basel, his diagonal runs behind the defence an obvious asset. But what Sterling does best, he does quickly; when central, or even on the right, he can move past one player and head towards goal in full flight. On the left, he beats men for fun and then has to move on to his stronger foot. It allows time for the defender to cover. Advantage over.

Coutinho and Lallana, meanwhile, have both performed best in central roles and Markovic continues to settle in.

The synergy between those behind the striker has been lacked; the zip and zest of the passing has been absent. If those begin to click, the attack will be truly reinvigorated.

Expectation puts pressure on players

When a man or woman is tired of moaning, they are tired of life. The aftermath of the Basel defeat highlights that.

Criticism is encouraged, but much of it is founded on jelly. Those who praised the Reds’ transfer activity now lambast it; those who heralded players as second comings refuse to give them a second more to prove themselves.

Liverpool performed above expectation in finishing second last season. The natural path of progress was then altered when Suarez departed.

But despite the changes, the Reds are expected to emulate last season. After a summer that transformed the club – for better or worse is yet to be determined – readjusting the crosshairs is necessary.

The process will take time, but the finished product is expected to be at Anfield now.

The burden of that not happening is possibly affecting the players; so, too, the manner in which the league was lost last season.

The expectation of last season being a distant memory, as well as all the emotion it brought, is possibly the most unfair of all.



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Why things can eventually get better for the Reds

Brendan Rodgers is a problem-solver

The defeats against Aston Villa and West Ham represented just the second time Liverpool lost consecutive league games under Rodgers.

It shows a mental resilience instilled in the team; the ability to recover from setbacks. But it also reflects on the flexibility of Rodgers; his ability to learn from mistakes and adapt to new challenges.

After a tough start in his first season, he turned towards Suso, Andre Wisdom, Sterling and Jonjo Shelvey to ignite the side. Later that season, after the embarrassment of an FA Cup exit to Oldham, he changed his defence and focused on the attacking trident of Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho.

There is evidence of Rodgers knowing what his team needs and acting accordingly. Gerrard’s move into defensive midfield was intelligent - and could now possibly require another tweak. The introduction of the diamond, moving Sterling into a central role despite his small size and stature, was inspired – and his role could need a rethink once more.

This is undoubtedly the biggest puzzle of Rodgers’ Anfield career so far, but he is always one twist of the Rubik’s Cube away from solving it once more.

The return of injured players is imminent – especially Sturridge

The importance of Sturridge has never been more evident.

If firing, chipping, caressing and bending the ball into the net 22 times last season* wasn’t enough to show his worth, then perhaps how nobody is looking close to doing so will do so.

Bought for £12m from Chelsea, the striker now looks absolutely priceless to what Rodgers wants to do at Anfield – especially given he scored a fifth of Liverpool’s 101 league goals last season, and did so consistently. He failed to score in just nine league games last season - or 22 in 31 games.

Not only is he good at putting the ball in the back of the net – a handy attribute for a striker to have – but he is central to how the Reds play. They break with more speed; their midfielders look more alert; opposition defenders look distraught, panicked at the sight of Sturridge moving this way and that way.

That, in turn, opens up space for his team-mates around him.

The returns of Allen, Can, Jon Flanagan and Glen Johnson will help swell the squad even more. Allen, in particular, is another whose contributions to the side have been highlighted in his absence.

But Sturridge brings goals. He brings a partner for Balotelli, a moving target for Coutinho and opens up space for Sterling. He also brings new possibilities for Lallana and Markovic.

Too much pressure can’t be put upon his shoulders, but it will. The hope is he can carry it effortlessly.

*The Crystal Palace goal at Selhurst Park should be his, no doubt.

This team finished second last season

There is a five-foot-seven, impish, magnificent, world-class elephant in the room when discussing the Reds’ performance last season.

But despite Suarez scoring 31 goals, he was not the only source of attacking brilliance last season.

Granted, the chaos he caused will be hard to replace. Sturridge showed glimpses in the win at Spurs, while Balotelli could cause a tempest in a teacup; the midfielders behind the front two, meanwhile, are all capable of a moment to make the Kop cackle in delight.

Liverpool have lost Suarez. But they have added an Italian international in Balotelli, one of the Premier League’s most consistent players in Lallana and a highly-rated dual domestic league winner in Markovic. Rickie Lambert, although he has suffered a slow start to his career on Merseyside, has scored 28 goals in two Premier League seasons.

In defence, Dejan Lovren put in performances worth the £20m paid; Moreno and Manquillo are thought of highly; Can has Champions League experience already, aged 20.

Yet putting that to one side, this squad still has Flanagan, Skrtel, Johnson, Gerrard, Henderson, Sterling, Coutinho and Sturridge. These were not players who were simply the supporting cast, but box office performers who helped the Reds come within two points of the Premier League title.

Form is temporary, class is permanent. It’s not just something to sew on to a banner and hang in a stadium – it’s a reminder of what has been can come again.

Scope for improvement across the whole side

The average age of the side who started in Switzerland was just over 24-years-old – and that’s with Jose Enrique, 28, replacing 22-year-old Moreno.

The success of last season was founded on the development of young players. Sterling, who began the season as a reluctant option off the bench, finished it as Europe’s best teenager; Coutinho, a traditional no.10, was flourishing in big games in central midfield; Sturridge, not long turned 25, became a complete striker with stone cold composure in front of goal.

The list continues. Flanagan found himself on the cusp of England’s World Cup squad having had no future in August, while Henderson’s transformation is now finally complete, justified with the vice captaincy around his arm.

Rodgers hasn’t had the chance to work with and improve Balotelli, Markovic, Lallana, Moreno and Manquillo properly yet – just over two months is no time at all on a training pitch.

If these players were bought because of their potential of becoming world-beaters, back the Ulsterman to extract every morsel of that from them.

Some will progress, some won’t - that is inevitable. But the talent is there, and Rodgers has only just started to explore it.

Liverpool thrive on momentum

When – or, for those of a more morose disposition, if – Rodgers and Liverpool crack their current dilemmas, it will be hard to stop them.

After a brilliant start to 2013/14, winning three from three, the Reds suffered an inconsistent run. It wasn’t until the defeat to Hull in December that they managed four consecutive wins before they, unfortunately, ran into Manchester City and Chelsea away.

Then came an incredible run of form. Three wins, two draws and then 11 consecutive wins. Week by week, the red machine rolled on. Everything was organised chaos. Goals went in both ends but, most importantly, went into the opposition’s goal more.

What happened in the final three games needs no reintroduction. But during that 11-game period, the Reds were unstoppable and momentum was their scariest asset of all.

Once the wheels start turning, they have the talent and depth to keep moving for a long time.