Posts in 4-2-2-2

With all the gloomy seasons of recent years, Liverpool's current second place positioning seems like a long-awaited break in the clouds. After grinding away in mid-table, the substantial climb that's left them only behind the champions-elect a reasonable distance into the season doesn't quite add up. That sort of jump usually comes from some kind of reshuffle or major upgrade, yet Liverpool don't actually appear to have improved on last season's performances. At times they have toyed with the opposition mercilessly, leaving them still chasing shadows when the ball's already hit the back of the net, but then they did last season. Liverpool's issue was never breaking down the sizeable number of teams racing to see who could finish lowest, it was in competing with the teams around and above them that were able to take advantage of the huge, glaring problems in the team. Just like the attractive dismantling of lesser teams, those problems remain with the side this year.