Liverpool need battlers, says legend Aldridge

If it the fact that Liverpool are lacking fight and that extra something that pulls the team over the line wasn’t already apparent to most fans and onlookers over the past few years, then it came crashing home to all on Sunday night.

Most fans will accept if their team is beaten by a superior side, or narrowly loses to a close and bitter rival. But to see a team of highly (overpaid, in many cases) internationals lamely stumble through 90 minutes with no a hint of a fight just isn’t acceptable.

That’s what we were served up on Sunday, and most fans are not happy with the state of the current squad. None more so than former Reds star, John Aldridge.

Writing in his column, Aldridge said: “We need more battlers because we’re getting out-fought. It happened against West Brom and it happened again against Watford.

“As the old saying goes, you need to win the individual battles and then the quality shines through. We failed to win those battles at Vicarage Road.”

Apart from one or two players that were trying to make an impact, most of the starting 11 barely looked interested. Even their manager, watching from the sidelines, could barely contain his anger as his players squandered possession, struggled to win it back and constantly managed to resemble a team that should be battling relegation.

And Aldo reserved particular ire for the defense, which has constantly undermined Liverpool since Rafa Benitez left, and only seems to keep getting worse.

He continued: “The frustration is we have to work so hard for our goals, but we concede them at the other end so cheaply.

“The errors are so basic – from the keeper to the players in front of him – and teams keep capitalising on that.

“We don’t defend corners well enough and we don’t take corners well enough. Set-pieces account for around a third of goals in the Premier League. It’s a big part of the game and we have to improve drastically at both ends.”

Judging by the recent peformances, despite a brief upturn when Klopp arrived, it is now again clear that Liverpool have to move for players in the transfer window. Something that Aldridge agrees with.

With a busy run in between now and the January transfer window, it’s very possible that many of the current squad will be playing for their futures. They could do much worse than pulling their thumbs out when Leicester arrive on Boxing Day.