Rewind back six months. Liverpool have just overcome Norwich City 3-2 away from home after yet another showing of their unstoppable and unrelenting attack spectacularly contrasted by their unreliable defending. Merely three games stand between the club and their first Premier League title. Their 19th English championship. The long-awaited title that the Kop has craved for over 20 years. It was difficult to comprehend for Liverpool fans, pundits and every other rival fan. The club's rise was so unprecedented that no-one in their right mind had saw it coming - particularly after they had fallen victim to a 3-1 battering at Hull City in December months before. Regardless of what was to follow in the final fixtures, the Reds had taken the league, if not the world, by storm with their brand of exhilarating, fast-paced, intelligent tactical football and they had won 11 straight games. What happened next was heartbreaking, but the tonic was that the club's season was absolutely unbelievable and they had defied all odds to finish 2nd with such a small squad, and such a dire defence.
Fast forward back to today, five games into the 2014-15 season and Liverpool are trying to overcome a second successive league defeat, as they fell to a 3-1 loss at West Ham United, having been beaten by Aston Villa at home the week before. Those two games meant they have just two wins from five in the Premier League so far. It all seems to have gone wrong and it's not just the defeats, but the manner in how the Reds have suffered those defeats, which has been most concerning. Other than a promising Spurs performance and a mouthwatering pre-season showing against Borussia Dortmund, they seem a world away from the side that only a few months ago, were perhaps the best in Europe. Just what has gone wrong in the time between? and what does Brendan Rodgers have to do to restore the playing standards that saw them storm to so many victories in the second-half of last season?
The one decisive flaw that has remained is the defence. Whilst the newspapers focused on the loss of Luis Suárez as a potential difference-maker, the truth is that it was always going to be difficult to replace the Uruguayan's influence in the final third. Never mind just his goals and his assists, but his movement, his never-say-die attitude, the sheer fear he can strike into a defender and his all-rounded ability. So, to effectively replace that in an alternative way, the answer was always going to be to shore up the defence. Even if the Reds didn't score the 100+ goals they managed last time out, if they conceded 30 or so less, then it would have a similar impact on results. Less goals conceded and there will naturally be less onus on needing so many goals will to be scored to win 6-3, 3-2 and 4-3 every week. Over the course of the summer then, the mission was to improve the defence.
Despite the defensive shake-up, the fresh faces and the removal of deadwood - nothing has changed. The same simple problems remain. The root of the problem clearly lies deeper than just the talents of the club's centre-backs, as in fact - Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren are all talented defenders who have the ability to start at many Premier League teams, but all look unnaturally sub-par in the current system. Be it, Steven Gerrard's poor defensive cover exposing them to too much (West Ham's third goal), or the full-backs pushing up too high (e.g. for Ludogorets' goal) or perhaps it is something as simple as the coaching staff being simply not good enough. Individual errors are something that can be coached, but not if they recurr consistently and that's what is happening at the club.
Under Rafa Benitez, Liverpool were renowned for being defensively solid and despite their attack hinging on a small number such as Fernando Torres, the peak form of Steven Gerrard and even the reliable Dirk Kuyt throughout the Spaniard's time as manager - more often than not they knew how to nick a result, particularly in the big games. In Europe particularly, Benitez was a tactical aficiando. It wasn't always pretty, but it worked - ignoring the shambolic 2009-10 campaign. However, when Rodgers' Liverpool took on Ludogorets in their first game back in the competition, they looked largely disjointed throughout the pitch. It was a concerning display, even though they won 2-1 and Mario Balotelli grabbed his first in a red shirt and they were poor in the final third. They should not have had to rely on a 92nd minute penalty to overcome their Bulgarian opponents on home turf, but that was the underwhelming case.
It's not just in Europe, but in the Premier League too, that the Reds have underperformed. The sharp, quick passing has gone. The flying-out-of-the-blocks start that blew teams away has become more of a laboured, slow build-up where the Reds themselves are the team on the end of a blistering start instead. Almost everything that made them so good last year seems to have disappeared recently. Yes, the season may only be five games in and they have suffered from an unfortunate bout of injuries to the midfield and to Daniel Sturridge - but the lack of performances from many players has been worrying.
Gerrard, despite earning praise for his goals and assists tally last season, has replicated the kind of performances that provoked debate over whether he should even be in the defensive midfield position that he has been transformed into post-January. His passing has been astray, his positioning has been poor and he's been simply vacant in the midfield - with the powerful West Ham midfield seeming to stride past him with ease on Saturday. Lucas Leiva has had a torrid start to the season himself, noticably being one of the worst players on the pitch against both Southampton, West Ham and even Ludogorets. Fabio Borini, despite his promising cameo in mid-week, did little but spurn a good opportunity for his side at Upton Park. Phil Coutinho has yet to turn up, producing very disappointing performances after being the stand-out player throughout the club's pre-season. Mario Balotelli has yet to live up to expectations, despite some promising glimpses. And yet, though Raheem Sterling may still be exceeding his reputation beyond Merseyside, the centre of match-talk is always going to come back to the defence, and Simon Mignolet - who has more of a problem with lines than Charlie Sheen once did.
Mignolet, having clearly been told to come off his line more, now sprints away from goal as if he has a clinical fear of his own net. It's had rather disastrous consequences, whether it's still just unnatural for him or his goalkeeping coach has been inadequate, it's just not going right for the Belgian at the moment. Before, it was his rigid positioning, as he stuck to his line and refused to move, that frustrated fans but now he seems to come off his line at any given opportunity and it's even more frustrating due to it's catastrophic effects (see the Ludogorets goal, and West Ham's 2nd goal.) At £9 million from Sunderland last summer, he was seen as the long-term successor to Pepe Reina - whose errors had began to prove costly, and he had a fairly solid first season despite a few mistakes. With Reina now gone permanently, and only Brad Jones to compete for his position, Mignolet's starting berth should be fairly secure, but it seems to be anything but at the moment. His shot-stopping ability cannot be unnoticed, but though he's made some decent stops so far this season, he's made equally as many errors to match. His lack of aerial dominance and voice, plus his poor distribution and hesitancy with the ball at his feet means he's far from the keeper that the club need. It's an issue that needs sorting if Liverpool are to surmount a challenge on four fronts this year, and costless agent Victor Valdes is a potential answer to their prayers.
The goalkeeper is only a part of the problem, however. The defence as a whole, needs sorting out - though two decent quality full-backs have gone a way to reducing certain issues. Manquillo and Moreno know how to capably get back and get forward, even though the two can sometimes be caught doing one or the other. Still, they are young and promising and if Rodgers can keep hold of the on-loan Atleti right-back then the club has two full-backs on their hands that can hold down those positions for many years to come.
It is central defence where the crucial problem lies. It is that problem that has cost them so many points over the last few months. Be it the pairing of Mamadou Sakho and Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Skrtel, Lovren and Sakho or even Daniel Agger and Skrtel even further back - there have been eye-catching issues for a while. Quite what the key root of them is, it seems not even Brendan Rodgers has identified. Miscommunication, individual errors and poor positioning are only a few of the mistakes that the chosen centre back partnership has been plagued by in recent games, and it has to stop. If it doesn't, pressure could soon be ramped up on Brendan Rodgers - who has yet to really come under severe scrutiny as Liverpool manager.
Perhaps one choice that defines the upcoming months for the club is the role of Steven Gerrard. The 34-year-old is steadily tiring and losing more and more mobility by the week. The skipper has committed to Liverpool after retiring from international football - but his performances are deteriorating and perhaps the acquisition of a true defensive midfielder, be it a bull-dozing powerhouse whose presence is felt or one who diligently breaks up opposing attacks and goes slightly unnoticed - it could make a real difference to the team as a whole. No longer would Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen have to worry about protecting a less-mobile midfielder, but Rodgers could switch to a system that doesn't necessarily mean having to accomodate Gerrard and so a two-man midfield could come back into play, or various other set-ups. Until it is tried, it will remain unanswered, but the thought must be playing around in Rodgers' head. Last season, it was a problem that was papered over by the side's attacking exploits. They didn't have to worry about defending so much as long as they could score costlessly. They can't anymore, and if the back-line isn't sorted out - Liverpool's return to Europe could be a very brief one indeed. Competition is hotting up in the league, and Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur are all competing for that 4th spot. With everyone faltering early on, now should be the time to gain an early advantage but instead Liverpool seem to be slipping behind even further - they need to find their feet quickly, or this season could be a forgettable one.