Liverpool have had a great start to the season so far as the Reds sit tied on top of the Premier League with Manchester City and Arsenal. The Reds have lost just one game in the entire season and are on a seven-match unbeaten streak in the league. The Merseyside club are also the top scorers in the competition with Manchester City and they seem to be going from strength to strength.
Even when things don’t seem to be working in their favour, such as the two goals conceded against Crystal Palace, the Reds are finding ways to ensure they end up with the win. While teams have tried various tactics such as playing deeper or even going head-to-head in pressing the Liverpool players, not many have found success in defeating the Reds.
One ex-Premier League referee though seems to think he has the method to defeat Jurgen Klopp’s boys. Howard Webb, who did officiate in a World Cup, gave up the plan in his book called The Man in the Middle.
Webb believes that winning captains at Anfield should ensure that the Reds kick off towards the Kop End in the first half, which is a ploy that not many use.
“The laws state that the winner of the coin toss chooses the direction of play, while the loser gets to kick off.
“Even so, the number of skippers who’d call heads correctly and persist in saying ‘Can we kick off instead?’ was incredible.”
The important of choosing ends
Webb continued by stating how important choosing the right end was for the away team at Anfield.
“Some players failed to understand the implications of the choice of ends, too.
“Put it this way, if I’d been a visiting captain who’d won the toss at Anfield, I’d have forced Liverpool to kick towards the away end in the second half rather than have the Kop sucking in a last-minute goal.
“A fair few captains didn’t grasp this, though, or didn’t seem to give it much thought.”
A fanciful idea
While it is true that the Reds prefer ending the game by attacking the Kop End, facing either side of the stadium should not affect the performance of the team. This is a professional club we are talking about, and not a Sunday football league team that can be affected by small incidents.
Agreed that playing and attacking towards the Kop End does have the backing of thousands of vociferous fans, the Reds have more often than not done well when facing the other side of the ground too. Professional footballers give it their all throughout the game and this seems to be just a ploy to hopefully find a kink in Liverpool’s armour.
The real problem that the Reds have to work on is the defence and not which side of the stadium they face in the second half. Howard Webb, like the rest of the Premier League, seems to be clutching at straws at the moment and there is no stopping the Reds now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxfyi0lbnEg
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