Liverpool - Crack Defence Or Crack Pots

It was long rumoured that Charlie Chaplin had been a Keystone Kop in the early days but nobody could ever prove it. Not until 2010 when a short film – A Thief Catcher – was found.  Made in 1914, there in his full glory as a Keystone Kop, stood Chaplin. Standing next to him in one clip was a tall blonde-haired actor. At the time, his identity was unknown but it became immediately apparent who he was on Sunday. At Dean Court , Loris Karius proved to be the latest in a long line of calamitous goalkeepers to don the Number 1 shirt at Anfield. He follows Simon Mignolet, Pepe Reina, Scott Carson and Jerzy Dudek. Some of them were decent ‘keepers but like a seeping evil, incompetence courses through their veins, destroying their reputations eventually. Karius plumbed new depths on Sunday. He wasn’t the only player at fault, goalkeepers rarely are but he carries the can alone for the fourth and decisive Bournemouth goal scored by Nathan Ake. It was a horrendous fumble, one gleefully pounced upon by the Cherries centre back and bundled into the net before a disbelieving television audience. Liverpool had thrown a 2 – 0 and 3 – 1 lead down the drain. It was an incredible collapse, sensationally provoked by Steve Cook. A week earlier, the defender gifted Arsenal the lead at the Emirates during Bournemouth’s 1 – 3 defeat. From zero to hero and the smile on his face at the end was something to behold. Immediately, Liverpool’s title credentials were called into question and rightly so. Champions don’t lose a two-goal lead twice in one season, let alone one game. But the Reds had form, they’ve shown a dubious disdain for defending already this season. On the opening day at the Emirates against Arsenal, a one-goal deficit was turned into a 4 – 1 lead. Within a minute, it was 4 – 2, then 4 – 3; sphincters closed and Merseyside prayed for the final whistle. They held out against the under-strength Gunners – just – but the bumbling defence was exposed at Burnley the following week during the 0 – 2 defeat and again at Selhurst Park recently. When you win, those afternoons or nights are described as ‘crazy’. Lose and there is something more sinister at play. Liverpool’s lack of defensive discipline may cost them dear in coming weeks. In the next thirteen games, they play the rest of the top six and a Merseyside derby. It’s a tough ask when you face the best in the country every alternate game. The question is whether they can recover their composure. Normally, the visit of West Ham to Anfield is a time for the Reds to fill their boots in front of goal. They could be forgiven for a little trepidation this coming weekend. Not that the Hammers will be in any better frame of mind, courtesy of their 1 – 5 drubbing by Arsenal at the Olympic Stadium. Jurgen Klopp must be genuinely puzzled by Sunday’s collapse. Liverpool were in control, hadn’t been facing a difficult fixture list so could barely claim to be exhausted. The opening two games aside, the only other time they’ve conceded two is at Palace but their performances have been far from convincing. Like the rest of the division, or certainly the top teams, they have a good first choice back four but previous seasons have seen them nervous, losing faith in their goalkeeper and as Simon Mignolet will testify, it never truly returns. Nervousness is almost ingrained in the club. They wait for the mistake, the slip that costs them glory or three points; sometimes both, as Steven Gerrard will testify. Klopp’s brief was – is – to stop that happening, to reignite the club with silverware. Why does it afflict Liverpool so frequently? The weight of expectation is heavy; theirs is a glorious past and none of the modern day squads have come close to replicating it. Even lifting the Champions League in Istanbul is now more than a decade ago. Some clubs never do it but achieve that success but man cannot dine off the crumbs of the past alone. Liverpool, for all of their rich history, have never won the Premier League. Think about that for a moment. The second most successful club in English has not won the title in twenty-six years. It’s a scratch they can’t itch and of the elite clubs, only Tottenham’s fifty-five year wait for a title is worse. One wonders how long he will be given to deliver. Already he has spent £76.5m – close to $100m – in chasing the dream. Brendan Rodgers spent a similar sum the previous summer and an eye-watering £117m – most funded by the sale of Luis Suarez – the year before. Throwing good money after bad is not a good habit to have. And not a proven route to success.