Last season, if we had won 8o percent of our home games that is around 13 games=39 drew 3 and lost 2 =3, we should had taken 42 points at home. That is a good return. with our away performance last season we should be close to top four. Coming season we need to do well at home. My question: How do we break teams that come to Anfield to defend down? Teams Like Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City Arsenal and Totthenham, do we play them as if we are playing away?. I am sure Liverpool manager was not happy with our home records last season.What can we do about it?.
We need better players really. Players that have the capabilities to produce moments in a match when it looks dead and buried. We now have Suarez, Coutinho and Sturridge who are all capable of producing a single moment which can win a game. At the same time, we need a team that concentrates for 90 mins and not make mistakes. Or mistakes that directly lead to a goal.
if you look at top 4 you only need win 12 or 13 games at home. we actually had 9-6-4... if you look our form and changed that to 12-4-3 that would be a 7 point swing and have put us in europe. arsenal's home record was 11-5-3 last year and they got 4th. we need to imporve CONSISTENCY. our record on the road was 7-7-4... if you look at the combined record it was 16-13-9... we draw nearly as many as winning. what we need to go do is just stop leaking still goals such as that awful 2-2 v city early on... or allowing Southampton to waltz round us for 2 easy goals ebfore half time.... or west brom disasters. Its not so much at home as just shoring up at the back in terms of silly goals and set piece debacles. simple as that if you score as many as we did (more than spurs and comparable with arsenal and chelsea) but stop the silly leaks you'd add the points needed I think everyone could agree with those two defensive issues being a big part. there were not too many 0-0s after January so i just feel it s ball retention, cut out the msitakes and shre up the set piece weakness..... which is why this summer is not going that well yet. fine we've more options up front we needed that but mignolet won't stop the free headers will he? toure might help with some in play issues or not but form set peice we'll be weak unless we add another CB.... and teach agger to shirt pull.
It's some of the teams we drew or lost to at home that worries me - Villa, WBA, Stoke and WHU. If we can't finish these teams off at home this coming season, we're in trouble.
The type of team we lose to or draw with at home does indicate a major flaw. However, I believe that it is a psychological rather than a tactical or skill flaw. We grab the initiative early and hold it for a long time. However sides like the ones you indicate know that if they can hold on until the last quarter our discipline will break and we will over-stretch ourselves and leave ourselves wide-open to counter attack. We need to build a confidence that our superior skill and technique will ultimately produce the required goal or that our manager will make significant tactical changes to win the game. I'm sure that it is this 'confidence' that is lacking in our teams.