Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists he is not interested in criticism of his side.
After an unproductive September for Liverpool, there are renewed attempts to blame the forwards.
That seems odd when the only team that's really kept them at bay so far are impressive league leaders Manchester City. Even then they were struggling until Sadio Mane's red card ruined Liverpool's chances. True, Leicester also did it in the Carabao Cup but Jurgen Klopp selected a much-weakened forward line for that game.
Plenty can be said about the forwards' chance conversion rate being lower than it should be. Teams can still win 1-0, though, or at least some can. When it comes to figuring out why the Reds aren't thriving, defence is still the issue. Perhaps people got bored discussing it and fancied a change of topic? Concerns with defending haven't vanished, it just seems fans are resigned to it as a fact and desperate for Klopp to construct a plan that sidesteps the issue.
If only it were that easy. If anything, forwards can claim defenders are making their lives harder, creating a greater burden to score more goals than other teams to produce equivalent results.
Sunday's 1-1 draw with Newcastle meant Liverpool have conceded in ten of 12 games. The lead, secured by another Philippe Coutinho wonder strike, lasted seven minutes. It's incredibly frustrating.
How ironic former manager Rafa Benitez was in the other dugout. The teams from the 2000s organised by Benitez and predecessor Gerard Houllier were built on solid defence, in stark contrast to Klopp's outfit.
It seems after two years in charge the German has little interest in emulating his predecessors' methods, but is it really as insurmountable a problem as he makes it seem?
Perhaps it would pique his interest if a plan was set out as a handy acronym of his own name?
"K" could stand for "keep them fit" or "keep the same lineup as much as possible." Rotation isn't a good idea when it comes to defence. Of all the sections of the team, it relies most strongly on the unit; knowing by experience what you're supposed to do and what your colleague will do.
The current swapping around of goalkeepers does not seem especially helpful, either. "L" will therefore stand for "last line of defence."
Benitez was wise enough to go out and buy Pepe Reina from Villarreal in 2005. Jerzy Dudek's Champions League final heroics could not mask his limitations.
Klopp seems to have little confidence in Simon Mignolet, yet his own purchase Loris Karius does not appear up to the job either.
All Liverpool's keepers may claim they are not being protected enough. That may come down to "O" for "organisation."
Fans are frustrated they are seeing the same mistakes game after game. Intensive drills on the training ground may be the only cure for such lapses, but is Klopp interested in that?
Kevin Prince Boateng, one of his players at Borussia Dortmund, recently spoke of Klopp and his more personal approach to getting the best out of players.
Jurgen Klopp's men have won just once in seven matches.
Monotonous training routines may not fit in with a wish to please everyone, but with one win in September how are his players feeling now? Winning surely makes everyone happier than an occasional arm around the shoulder.
The first "P" stands for "protection." Houllier and Benitez's defences were always well-served by an old fashioned four-man midfield, including one enforcer like Dietmar Hamann or Javier Mascherano.
Klopp's three central midfielders, and his desire for full-backs to charge forward, inevitably leaves gaps. The idea of having one plan when you're attacking and another when you're defending seems alien to the current team.
The second "P" stands for "personnel." Few think the players Klopp has are up to the job but there's no way of telling that conclusively unless all the ways of improving them listed above are implemented.
Fans sigh nostalgically for the likes of Steve Finnan, Alvaro Arbeloa or Daniel Agger from the previous decade. Were they such great players or did they merely benefit from an exhaustive regime which helped improve them within a collective?
In any case, there's nothing Klopp can do about the squad until the next window opens. Given that he's spent 90 percent of transfer funds on midfielders or wingers, don't hold out hope for a change in policy now.
The negligent attitude to an important part of the team is exacerbated by a lack of minutes for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, one of two big summer signings. That £40 million could have been better spent elsewhere, surely?
Implementing a more organised defensive policy takes time on the training ground. Playing two games a week regularly plus international breaks creates an almost insurmountable problem for Klopp right now.
He will probably just cross his fingers and pray his forwards can start scoring goals again to lessen the impact of defensive errors. Whether that will be enough is another matter, but right now it seems unlikely.
Steven Kelly is one of ESPN FC's Liverpool bloggers. Follow him on Twitter @SteKelly198586.
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Source: espn.co.uk