Time for José to make way for Liverpool’s best left-back

IN the underwhelming, uninspiring and lacklustre affair that was last weekend’s Merseyside derby, the cracks papered over by the 6-0 demolition of Newcastle at St. James’ Park the previous week were so simply exposed.

A select few players were singled out for their particularly poorer performances as per – Lucas Leiva in particular was singled out for his what was viewed as an exceptionally poor performance. By the Brazilian’s standards, he was below-par – being careless in possession, giving the ball away cheaply with what quite simply put was mediocre distribution of the ball.

However, he was by no means as abysmal as it was made out to be by supporters. Put it bluntly, being the easy target that he is, he was as so often made the scapegoat to what was a collectively poor performance.

One player who escaped with little to no criticism however was left-back José Enrique.

At the earlier stages of the campaign, the 27 year-old’s future at Liverpool looked bleak, with him being singled out as one of a select few players who needed to clean up their act or face a possible exit from the club. Several months on and Enrique has re-established himself as a key member of Rodgers’ squad, following a series of stellar performances for the Reds from full-back, effectively cementing his place as the club’s first-choice left-back.

In watching the Spaniard in his extended run in the team and his most recent performance at the weekend, one thing has been made clear to me – José Enrique is simply not good enough.

His flamboyant long balls and sometimes awesome displays of strength in shepherding the ball out of play may stand out but what most fans don’t see are his, when pin-pointed, quite crucial flaws. His tendency to stray out of position for one is something that is of great concern as he is often seen wandering a good 20 yards out of position only to fail to get back on time.

Yet another critical shortcoming of José’s is his ‘weakness’ in the challenge, making half-hearted, subdued and even lazy attempts to dispossess the opponent. A prime example would be in last season’s FA Cup final against Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea, where Enrique quite literally gifted them the opener, opting for a withdrawn, sluggish challenge on Ramires in a sorry attempt to nick the ball off his feet. Needless to say he was shrugged off with ease, allowing Ramires through on goal – and the rest is history.
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Another thing that became evident in Sunday’s clash with David Moyes’ men was Enrique’s ineffectiveness. So often was he brought into the game, only to give the ball straight back to the opposition in the final third with a poorly executed cross, inaccurate pass or lapse in concentration on his part. He just seemed to run out of ideas as he approached the business end of the pitch.

Ultimately, finding a replacement would be, in my opinion, the best course of action for the club. So, where do we look? The answer quite literally is sitting in our backyard it being young Jack Robinson, currently on-loan at now relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Having been thrown straight into the first-team at Molineux, following a, in hindsight, rather fortunate injury to Ward, Robinson has since established himself as Wolves’ first-choice left-back and made himself a fan-favourite in the West Midlands.

The 19 year-old has impressed greatly in his time with (what is now formerly) Dean Saunders’ men, showing an almost monstrous amount of space, robustness in the tackle and consistent effectiveness.

Despite his relative inexperience and comparably small physique, Robinson gives what the Reds have missed from their left flank ever since the departure of John Arne Riise – directness. Robinson has displayed his ability to run at defenders at force his way into the box, more often than not finding a teammate with a pinpoint pull-back rather than an aimless, floated ball over the top.

His composure on the ball coupled with his direct, unrelenting style of play would be a valuable asset to the team, much more so than José Enrique possibly could.

If ever there was a time to step up, now, more so than ever would be it for young Jack Robinson, quite simply Liverpool’s best left-back.
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