Your defence was a proper mess today. First time I've watched a full Liverpool game this season, and yeah Bolasie had one of his god mode unplayable days but even so, the simple aspects of defending were so horribly messed up it made it easy for him. It's clearly not a personnel problem, it's a systematic one, so what's going on?
It's both. Last season Rodgers changed his ethic from a slow paced possession game which he prefers, to a quick, high pressing game to accommodate Suarez and Sturridge, which worked so well. This season he doesn't have a ****** clue how to play, and you can tell. The players don't know what to do.
Today you can see, it was a case of passing it between defence and Gerrard, waiting until we get pressured, then launching it up and hoping for the best.
The players don't know how we want to be playing, and if they do, they're incapable of doing it. In the summer, I was pretty happy with most of our business. Moreno and Markovic showed we wanted to play the same way as last season, quick and direct. Only reason Lovren was signed was off the back of a season, from a team who played how Rodgers wanted us to play, and Balotelli was signed as a last resort after Sanchez/Bony/Remy fell through.
Most of our goals conceded come from individual mistakes, I don't want to look up the stats because it'll make me depressed. Can be seen today. First goal was Skrtel and Lovren not knowing who wanted to clear it, before hoofing it up field, comes straight back and no one closes him down, then the striker is quicker than defender to the rebound.
Second one was due to the problem we've had all season, of absolutely no defensive midfielder at all, which is completely Rodgers' fault. We have Lucas, who isn't amazing anymore, and we should have signed a defensive mid. United have Blind, City have Fernando/Fernandinho, Chelsea have Matic, and arsenal have...no one, because Arsene's as stubborn as Rodgers.
Rodgers basically decided Gerrard can play as the only deep midfielder, when he clearly isn't suited to it, by himself. Keeping him deep is fine, keeping him deep alone is another.
Fact is, four of our back five aren't good enough. Mignolet, Lovren, Skrtel and Johnson are just not good starters. You can't play five average players like that and expect them to fix all of your issues. Still not performing? he keeps the faith, keeps playing them...and still...still.
It's systematic because of a lack of cover from a defensive mid, and trying to get players not suited to a certain style or lack of, trying to play another.
It's personnel because he doesn't want to rotate the bad defenders out of the team, because he hopes they'll 'come good'. Johnson was preferred today over Moreno, and Enrique, in a position he barely plays, when he can't even play well in 'his' position of right back.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.