Football - Liverpool FC - Mark Lawrenson: Why I have doubts over Liverpool's hard-running style under Jurgen Klopp

The German has his players covering more ground... but is the effort being used in the right way and the correct areas? 

 

 

Road runners: Liverpool's players have embraced Klopp's pressing approach

Since Jurgen Klopp arrived at the club, Liverpool have been transformed into a team of hard-running marathon men.

The German has long been known for his commitment to a high pressing game, asking his players to close down their opponents all over the pitch, forcing mistakes.

Fitness levels certainly seem to be improving at Anfield, while many expect the real benefits to come next season, when Klopp's methods have really taken root.
 
But Kop great Mark Lawrenson is not so sure about the effort being put in by the players. 

He  explains why in his Liverpool Echo column below: 

 

I wouldn’t class myself as an old cynic but when you are covering miles and miles then absolutely brilliant, your attitude is great and you’re willing to put the hard work in and the application... but I’d like to know where you run and if you run with the ball or without it.

Are you running back to your own goal or are you chasing into good positions?

I get the statistics and they’re part of what the Premier League is and can tell you a lot of good things but sometimes you have to analyse where they’re running.

When a team has covered a record 156km in a game, I’d ask ‘where were you running and was it in relation to the way the team was playing?’

There has to be some kind of link, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that whatsoever, between all this hard running and the number of hamstring injuries.

Seriously, is it possible to run so far in the Premier League on a regular basis? That’s what I’d be asking my medical staff.

I can’t think of any other team who can do that and keep it up all the time.

Pressing issues: Klopp likes his players to hare all over the pitch

When we look forward to next season, the players will have had a Klopp pre-season under them as well and eight months of him so that will be interesting to see.

He did it in the Bundesliga with Dortmund which is fine but they probably played fewer games and some of their matches against the lesser teams are arguably not as intense.

When you look at us at the moment at home because we haven’t started too many occasions with an out-and-out striker like Christian Benteke, I think our great problem is that teams just sit back.

To get winning regularly at home we’re going to have to play a different way.

Improving: Benteke is finally finding his feet

Of late, Benteke’s movement has improved. He’s got better.

If you’re going to play Benteke, you’ve also got to play to his strengths, you’ve got to help the fella.
We’re betwixt and between. We trust the manager, we like the manager, and think eventually he’ll get it right.

Long term he’s probably not the answer as far as the manager is concerned but let’s trying to find a way of helping him which will eventually help our home form.

If and when we decide we’re going to go down a different route with a striker and Benteke gets sold then there’ll be quite a few teams will want to take him. Nobody is doubting his ability, he’s just a different centre-forward than what the manager envisages.
But in the meantime we need to win some games.