After a brief hiatus at the start of the season, Liverpool's defensive issues emphatically returned against West Ham. Brendan Rodgers must learn from his own mistakes.
"We are doing extra sessions on every aspect of our defending in terms of in-game static and moving positions and our set-pieces. We are putting in an awful lot of work into that organisation, it is one of the things I picked up on from last season."
Even with Brendan Rodgers' remarkable ability to shoot himself in the foot, the juxtaposition between what the above infers and what was on show at Anfield on Saturday was stark.
Three clean sheets from three opening games and the ailment that afflicted Liverpool's campaign last season appeared to be remedied. Nathaniel Clyne represented a steady summer addition at right-back, while Joe Gomez was the revelation of the season on the left-hand side.
The sight of an 18-year-old centre-half with 24 senior career appearances - all for second-tier side Charlton - starting the Reds' opening four games at left-back ahead of actual left-back Alberto Moreno may seem bizarre, but it's not even the biggest defensive phenomenon witnessed at Anfield so far in this embryonic season. No, step forward Dejan Lovren.
A much-maligned £20million purchase from Southampton last summer, Lovren struggled to stamp his authority at the base of the Liverpool defence to say the least. A joint league-high seven errors leading to shots or goals matched only by Rob Green; keeper for relegated QPR.
Having helped keep Stoke, Bournemouth and Arsenal at bay, many, including Rodgers himself, felt this would be a renaissance for the Croatian. Those buying into said thought process will surely have quietly abandoned such claims after watching his performance against West Ham.
With his side already 1-0 down, Lovren looked to escort the bright Manuel Lanzini out of play, with the midfielder stranded alone by the byline. Lovren managed to gain possession before almost falling over his own feet, then inexplicably tapping the ball to Lanzini. The Argentinean duly added to his earlier goal with an assist for Mark Noble.
Of course, let's not forget the aforementioned opening goal. Defensive partner Martin Skrtel - himself the curator of a joint-sixth highest five errors leading to shots or goals last season - able to head only to Aaron Cresswell, with his cross-cum-shot converted by Lanzini within three minutes.
Diafra Sakho's icing on the cake saw Lovren go walkabout while Skrtel begged for mercy; the striker passing the ball into a net barely guarded by Simon Mignolet.
It begs the question: How have Liverpool not learnt from their (numerous) mistakes of last season?
Uncharacteristic of recent times, the Reds enjoyed a positive window overall, adding that key striker and strengthening in defence and midfield. Somehow, the central defence has remained untouched.
A side looking to breach the Champions League places simply should not enter a Premier League season with Lovren and Skrtel as their first choices, while Gomez, Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho provide back-up.
It's a curious case, that of French international Sakho. Perceived as clumsy and mistake-prone in possession, the 25-year-old is by far the best option at Rodgers' defensive disposal. One fears that Rodgers' own pride in choosing Lovren and Skrtel as his pairing will act as the biggest obstacle in Sakho's reintroduction to first-team action.
"We are putting in an awful lot of work into that organisation, it is one of the things I picked up on from last season," said Rodgers on Friday. "We brought in a lot of players thinking they could maybe settle into it quickly but the learning aspect from that was that I needed to do more on that (defensive) front this season."
A slight admission from the Northern Irishman of his mistakes last season, where the Reds conceded just three and five goals fewer than relegated Hull and Burnley respectively.
Compare this with Rodgers' comments in April of 2014, following a demoralising - and title-deciding - 2-0 defeat to Chelsea. Of the Blues' defensive performance, Rodgers said: "It's the style of football, it's defensive, and the polar opposite of the way we work. It gets results. It's the opposite to how we work and hopefully over time and with preparation it will get us long-term results."
A Freudian slip of epic proportions lies within. "It's defensive, and the polar opposite of the way we work. It gets results." Gary Neville may have accused Arsene Wenger of being "arrogant or naive" earlier this week, but such barbs should be saved for Rodgers.
The Liverpool boss is almost certainly drinking in the last-chance saloon this season, but he needs to learn and mature as a manager. In the meantime, Champions League qualification is a mere pipedream.
With just three days remaining of the transfer window, it appears unlikely the Reds will add to their dilapidated defensive ranks in time. It should never have been left so late in the first place.
Matt Stead
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