Liverpool's draw against Ludogorets showed again that confidence is fragile among Brendan Rodgers' players
Liverpool's 2-2 draw away to Ludogorets kept their Champions League hopes alive but a late equaliser by the Bulgarian side will have done little for their fragile confidence. Belief is proving just as problematic as any missing striker, writes Daniel Storey...
Thursday 27 November 2014 12:49, UK
It was not a night on which Liverpool could resolve any of their troubles, but Brendan Rodgers must have hoped, pleaded, and prayed for better.
For the second match in four days, it felt like one step forward and another step back. Progress is difficult to spot, unless you count avoiding becoming the first Liverpool side in 61 years to lose five matches on the spin. Scant consolation.
Everything currently feels like a struggle for Liverpool, every small gain a battle against their own frailties. Recent defensive woes were epitomised in the first two minutes of the match against Ludogorets: An inability to close down the opposition player on the ball, defensive uncertainty and an error from Simon Mignolet. The Belgian is nursing an empty glass in Liverpool's last chance saloon.
Rodgers' side did show character to respond, but were assisted by some comical Bulgarian defending. A reminder that Ludogorets are playing their home games 220 miles from their own stadium, and their record transfer fee paid is just £1.5m. These were the rank outsiders of this Champions League group.
"If we get the first goal that can give us the confidence," Rodgers said before the match, but one suspects the comeback would have given him greater satisfaction, had his side held on. That chance was thrown away with another example of poor defending. This time it was Glen Johnson who lost his man. The time has come for frank conclusions.
Confidence
Rodgers' pre-match mention of "confidence" was notable, for it is exactly that characteristic the manager conceded was missing in the defeat to Crystal Palace. "Overall, there's that intensity and togetherness that's not quite there in our game," Rodgers admitted. "When you don't get the results, that is affected. We started the game as you would want but I think you saw a team low on confidence."
It shows, particularly in a side managed by Rodgers, for whom self-belief is the most important weapon in his armoury. The proportion of football management dependent on motivation differs according to the individual style, but it's never negligible. Andre Villas-Boas' tenure at Tottenham indicates the risk of a tactic-heavy approach. At the opposite end of the spectrum from Villas-Boas sits Rodgers.
Confidence. It is an abstract notion, entirely unquantifiable, but also formed the foundation for Liverpool's rise last season. Rodgers' side played an attractive blend of attacking football largely because Rodgers made them believe that they could. The Premier League title proved a step too far, but Liverpool gained 23 more points in 2013/14 than they did in the previous campaign. Self-belief won them as many of those as Luis Suarez.
The examples are numerous. "He has told me to just be confident and get on the ball, I am in that zone now," said Raheem Sterling in March. "He gives everyone confidence, when you step on to the pitch you know that he is behind you," was Mignolet's take, while Steven Gerrard also piled on the praise. "You go out feeling full of confidence and belief," the Liverpool captain said. "His one-on-one management is the best I have known."
The importance of self-belief runs through every fibre of Rodgers' personality. It's why he says things like: "You can live without water for many days, but you can't live for a second without hope." And: "I use a quote with the players, 'Per aspera ad astra', which is Latin for 'through adversity to the stars'." Fortune cookie wisdom perhaps, but that's
