Only 11 points from the first 10 matches. Brendan Rodgers never thought his Liverpool career would be off to such a disappointing start, winning only once at Anfield and struggling to get points and goals from the get go. It’s one of Liverpool’s worst start in a long time, but not the worst.
Graeme Souness was where a lot of people think the club began going in the wrong direction. Something about disassembling the club’s DNA in the post-Dalglish years, something Liverpool have never recovered from. Others think it was Hillsborough that was when the glory days ended and Liverpool started sinking, with a few high points along the way.
Liverpool have had bad starts, but normally managed to finish well and for nearly a decade be a consistent member in the Champions League. Their start to the season in 2001, following their inferior treble season, saw them finishing at second and leading the league during early stages of the season.
In 2008-2009, Liverpool enjoyed a roaring start, picking up 26 points out of a possible 30. They lost only two matches that season – away to Tottenham and Middlesbrough, but fell due to their home draws against the likes of Fulham, West Ham, Stoke and others. The beat Manchester United twice, they beat Chelsea twice and drew twice against Arsenal. It was hard to ask for anything more, and they still missed out on the title.
The most worrying stat? Goals. Not just this year. Over the last three seasons, Liverpool average only 1.23 goals through their first 10 matches in the campaign. With only one striker and the club’s tendency to become over-reliant on the production of just one man (Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, now Luis Suarez), it’s hard to see when this trend will change unless Rodgers’ style finally kicks in and makes scorers out of players not named Luis Suarez.
