Liverpool show signs of the “dip” syndrome, which Arsenal have overcome

 

 

• Arsenal v West Ham: the aftermath
• And now, after yet another victory, it’s time to celebrate….

By Tony Attwood

This morning I took a look at the “last six game table”, which, if you are a regular reader, you’ll know is one of my favourite guides to club form.  And I looked today, even though some clubs have only played six, because I am fascinated by the sudden change in the fortunes of Liverpool.  And not least because I feel the media constantly ignores the power of form when analysing club performance.

When Liverpool drew the Community Shield game with Crystal Palace and then lost the penalty shoot-out, the general feeling was that it was just the “curtain raiser” and not to be taken into account.  Although Palace’s subsequent form (undefeated in in 11) has revealed that at the moment, they are no walkover.

But there was another factor in that match that got less attention.  The fact that Liverpool twice let their lead slip.

Now of course, you can’t forecast the whole season on one pre-season game, even if it is a competitive fixture, but losing the lead twice seemed a bit un-Liverpool.  And yes, the club were able to set aside any such thoughts as they then went on a seven-match run of wins.   That surely indicated to everyone that Liverpool were going to continue as they finished last season.

But there were two tell-tale signs at the end of last season that may have rung a bell, at least with readers of Untold who were paying attention.

For last season we explored the concept that sometimes teams don’t just lose the occasional match amidst a run of victories, but that they are more likely to have what we called a “Dip” lasting several games.   Champions, we argued, were the clubs that didn’t so much avoid defeats, but rather, managed to recover from a defeat immediately.

This, we have suggested, is something that Arsenal have suffered from in the past.  A long run of wins with the occasional draw comes to an end with an unexpected defeat, but then instead of picking themselves up again, the club suffers a run of defeats and/or draws before the wins start again: it’s a dip.  Submitting to dips is what marks out the “nearly” team from the winners.

Yet this season, Arsenal recovered from their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool by winning six and drawing one of the next seven games in all competitions.

But despite their success in the league, Liverpool showed that they, too, are susceptible to dips.  In four games in late March and early April, they lost three and just beat Everton 1-0.  This didn’t affect their league position too much as two of the defeats were in cup games, but all the signs of a dip were there.

Then again, in the last four games of the season (all in the Premier League) they lost two and drew two, scoring six, conceding nine.  Not really what we expect from champions – but of course, ignored by everyone since Liverpool won the league.

And indeed there seemed to be no need to worry since, despite losing the Community Shield on a shoot-out, they then won their first seven games of the season.   But since then, they have lost three games: to Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea.  It is another classic dip, and it seems the club has not got itself a psychologist in post who can recognise and find ways of overcoming the phenomenon.

Arsenal, on the other hand, seem to have taken last season’s dips to heart.   After their defeat to Liverpool in the third match of the season, Arsenal did not drop into a run of draws and losses, but have won six and drawn one.  Not a sign of a dip can be seen.

Of course, the issue of the “dip” is somethinjg that doesn’t interest journalists since they focus almost exclusively on the last game each club has played, rather than the run of results, but time and again we do see clubs that we expect to win game after game, have one loss, and then instead dof recovering, they have a second.

Thus Liverpool lost to Palace 2-1.  Palace are on a strong run – it could have just been one of those things for Liverpool to put behind them, but no, for then they lost to Galatasaray and then to Chelsea.   Three defeats – it is a dip of the type that Arsenal suffered last season.

As for a remedy to the dip scenario, Liverpool doesn’t need a new striker.  They need a better club psychologist.  But of course, most journalists and fans reject the need for psychological support, although that is what is helping Arsenal.

Long may it continue.