Carragher Calls On Klopp To End “Obsession” With Tactic Which Is Causing Liverpool Problems

Carragher Calls On Klopp To End “Obsession” With Tactic Which Is Causing Liverpool Problems

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has called on Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff to rethink the offside trap, which has been causing the Reds massive issues at the back in the first four league games of the season.

There has been a lot of talk about the ‘high line’ which the Premier League champions employ but Carragher does not have an issue with that, per se. He feels the lack of tracking back after a ball is played over the top is a much a bigger issue:

“I just feel there is an obsession with offside. It’s not about Liverpool dropping off 10 or 15 yards, it’s just a case of when they are in dangerous situations, it is just about dropping off two or three yards to give yourself a head start to start running back.”

“That is all because I don’t think there is any problem with having a high line. You have to be compact, aggressive and play with a calculated risk, but just run back lads, please!”

Catching opponents offside is something that Liverpool have clearly focused on over the past two seasons, with the club top of the charts in terms of offsides against. However, it does have its flaws which were ruthlessly exposed by Aston Villa in the 7-2 defeat earlier this month.

The offside trap does work when used on an ad-hoc basis, but if it is employed all the time, it is very easy to beat with opponents making runs from deep. Whether we’ll see an alteration in Klopp’s approach in upcoming games, we shall have to wait and see.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.