It’s Time to Talk About Andy Robertson for Liverpool | OneFootball

Andy Robertson, Andrew Robertson, Robbo, or whatever you may refer to him as usually, is a Liverpool great. He is a Premier League legend. When it comes to best left back in the league’s history, he is deserving of at least being involved in the conversation.

However, his performances over the last few seasons have been far from the energetic, up-and-down-the-wing, Duracell bunny that he once was for the Reds. The type of performance that enthused the Anfield crowd. The type that got the Liverpool faithful up off their seats.

It is time for the Scotsman to come out of the team for a while, and here is why.

Along Comes Robbo

The arrival of Andy Robertson to Liverpool was not really significant at the time. He was a fullback who moved from a team that got relegated for just £8 million. There was never really any huge expectations. Fans were just happy that they no longer had to see James Milner deputise in that position.

While the significance at the time was not clear, it wasn’t long before it was. There is no doubt about it; Robertson will go down as a Liverpool great. He was an important cog as part of the never-ending, relentless, gegenpressing machine that Jürgen Klopp had instilled at the Merseyside club.

His energy, drive, and work rate were vital to the football Klopp was implementing. It wasn’t long until these traits were a major factor in Robertson endearing himself to the Anfield crowd.

The Peak of His Powers

Throughout 17/18 up until 21/22, Andy Robertson was the best left-back in the Premier League. He was part of one of the best sides in Europe, that competed for the highest honours.

During that period, and even in the seasons after, the Scotsman has cemented himself in the history books. The now 30-year-old and his fullback partner have constantly beaten each other as the defender with the most assists in Premier League history.

Currently as it stands, Robertson is one away (57) from the record held by Alexander-Arnold (58). This was in large parts due to Liverpool’s frantic overlapping fullback philosophy that saw both men be high and wide. His crossing ability was sensational, and considering he was whipping the ball into forwards who stood below 6 foot, his accuracy and decision making on whether to go high or low was remarkable.

His role in the team was vital to the side clinching a Premier League title, a Champions League trophy, and FA Cup, & a Carabao Cup during the period aforementioned.

Now, at 30 years old, questions are starting to emerge: can Robertson continue to keep up with the intense demands of the Premier League, or is it time to consider a new direction for Liverpool’s left-back position? There are certainly signs that the latter is the case.

The Champions League Final 21/22

The issues with Andy Robertson have stemmed from quite a while back now, and the first instance it was noticeable was in the Champions League Final back in 2021/2022.

There has been quite a bit of blame put on two players for this goal: Virgil van Dijk for not doing enough to stop the cross and Trent Alexander-Arnold for not tracking Vinicius Jr. more closely.

However, nobody brings up how this move starts in the first place. It was Robertson’s half-hearted press that first opened up the space for Federico Valverde to launch his devastating cross that put Los Blancos in the lead, eventually winning the European Cup once again.

As Robertson pressed without intensity, the gap he left behind forced Luis Díaz further back, who isn’t know for his defensive strengths, giving Real Madrid the chance to capitalise. This moment, subtle yet significant, highlighted the first signs of Robertson’s declining positional awareness.

This moment gifts Valverde essentially the whole right side of the pitch. He drives into the space and unleashes a world-class cross to the backpost. The rest is history.

This is in no way a slight on Robertson, as pushing high was always what he was taught to do. But his awareness on when to apply pressure, and move out of the left-back role has significantly hampered the club in recent years.

Additionally, since his role has changed to sit back more often, his defensive deficiencies have become more noticeable.

Andy Robertson: Poor Defensively This Season

When it comes to performances this season, Liverpool’s defence as a whole have been rock-solid. They’ve only conceded five goals from nine Premier League games. But even in that Andy Robertson has not exactly been up to scratch.

When it comes to defensive duels won%, he is ranked last when compared to full-backs in teams you’d expect to be in and around Liverpool. The Scotsman comes in with only 50% of his duels won this season so far.

Data.MB

Additionally, when it comes to overall duel-winning, he ranks dead last in the league this season.

Data.MB

The Quansah Example

When Jarrell Quansah was struggling in his duels against Ipswich in the first game of the season, Arne Slot made a change at half-time, and since then Quansah has barely featured.

While this is in large fact due to the colossal performances of Ibrahima Konaté, and less so the errors of the young Englishman, the new Liverpool head coach made a statement, even if that wasn’t his intention.

This same statement needs to be made now. Andy Robertson has been off the pace for quite some time, and it was put on full display when he came up against one of the best wingers in the league in Saka.

It’s clear from the numbers that his defensive responsibilities have not been up to par for a team that are being touted as title challengers. He was finally punished by a world-class player.

It was even obvious against Chelsea when Madueke was easily bypassing him down his side. The difference though is that Madueke is not to the quality of the Arsenal right-winger so was unable to apply the same damage.

The Replacement

Liverpool have two players in the squad who can easily slot in (pardon the pun). Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas are both capable players to fill in at left-back.

While putting any of these players into the squad won’t be a major upgrade, or if any, you can’t discount the importance of form and Andy Robertson is bang out of form.

The left-back position has to be a priority in the transfer market in the next 12 months. It is arguably Liverpool’s weakest starting position at the moment.

No one can deny Andy Robertson’s place in Liverpool’s history as one of their most impactful full-backs. His tireless runs and pinpoint assists have excited Anfield and helped deliver some of Liverpool’s best moments in the last 30 years.

But, as all players eventually do, Robertson may need to step back or adapt to a more rotational role. Far from undermining his legacy, this shift could give him the chance to return to his best form while offering Liverpool the chance to refresh and strengthen their defense. Whatever the future holds, Robertson’s contributions have left an mark on Liverpool, and he will always be remembered as one of their greats.