Liverpool Will Look Back and Rue Missed Opportunities in 2012
By
(Analyst) on March 15, 2012
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Statistically speaking, Liverpool may still be in the hunt for a UEFA Champions League berth but in reality, they gave up that position a long time ago.
When the season is done and dusted—and they reflect on what went wrong—they will look to their missed opportunities throughout the year with regret and frustration.
They will walk away from 2012 with the Carling Cup silverware, but as far as English Premier League success, they will have nothing to show for it.
For a club full of prestige and expectations, finishing at least in the top four is expected and anything else is simply not good enough.
It's not as if they didn't have their chances to win matches and chalk up valuable points; they simply couldn't get their attacking play all going at the same time.
This article will look in depth at the failings Liverpool had in front of goal this season, the significance of their missed opportunities and the consequences that it had on their season.
Where did these missed opportunities come from and how did they affect the Reds?
Let's take a look.
Missed Shots
Clive Mason/Getty Images
It's important to note first of all that Liverpool do have a goalscoring problem.
Only three times this year have they scored more than two goals, and throughout the season, the Reds have only been averaging 1.17 goals per game.
To match it with the top clubs of England and indeed the world, you've got to be more powerful than that in attack.
However, it's also important to note that Liverpool have not been struggling to shoot the football this year. For all their offensive issues that they may have had, shooting at goal was never one of them.
The Reds rank in the top four in the league for total shots, behind Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham—all sides that boast a high quality of attacking prowess and excellent strikers.
In fact, Liverpool rank third in the league for total shots per minute, averaging a shot every six or so minutes of play. So where did the Reds fall down in attack?
The problem lies in their accuracy.
Out of all the teams in the Premier League, Liverpool rank in the bottom three for shot accuracy, with only 41 percent of their shots going on target. The two teams behind them are Stoke City and QPR—both of which have taken significantly less shots than Liverpool has this season.
As a result, their accuracy woes has seen them place more shots off target than any other team in the league and significantly hamper their goalscoring ability.
Scott Heavey/Getty Images
This image, despite being a few weeks old, is helpful to understand in context. For Liverpool fans, it paints a better picture than reality, for since the time of publication, Liverpool have slipped to third last on the table.
Side note—Bolton? First? That's another article entirely.
Missed Goals
Because of their astronomical number of shots, despite spraying many, Liverpool are still hitting the target on a regular basis and rank fifth in the league for shots on target behind the Big Four clubs and Tottenham.
But as I'm sure you're well aware, there is a large difference between putting the ball on goal and putting it in the back of the net—something Liverpool can again attest to.
The Reds are putting up more shots per goal than any other team in the league.
For those playing along at home, they're averaging over 12 shots per goal, compared to the 5.12 and 5.14 that Manchester United and Manchester City average respectively.
Which means—remembering how many shots on target the Reds have—they also top the league in shots on target per goal at around five. Again, both Manchester clubs average nearly half of that per goal.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Bringing this all together then, it's no surprise that Liverpool are—statistically speaking—the most inefficient attacking team in the league, as this image highlights the disparity between total shots and shots on target per goal.
While teams like Manchester City and Manchester United convert around 40 percent of their shots on target into goals, Liverpool convert only around 20 percent—ranking them dead last in the English Premier League.
Missed Opportunities
After seeing these statistics, it is no surprise then as to what transpires come game day for Liverpool and their supporters.
While it is hard to determine what was an "opportunity" for a goal and what was not, we can still examine some of these opportunities by taking note of all penalty shots and times that Liverpool hit the post or crossbar.
The following table is a record of every occasion of both of these this year, and highlights the significance that these misses had on the outcome of the match.
| ||||
Opposition | Final score | Event | Player | New result |
1-1 | Missed penalty | Luis Suarez | 2-1, win | |
2-0 | Hit the post | Martin Kelley | 3-0, win | |
Wolverhampton | 3-1 | Hit the post | Andy Carroll | 3-1, win |
2-0 | Missed penalty | Dirk Kuyt | | |
| | Hit the post | Dirk Kuyt | 4-0, win |
West Bromwich | 2-0 | Hit the post | Stewart Downing | 3-0, win |
0-1 | Hit the post | Jordan Henderson | 1-1, draw | |
2-0 | Hit the post | Luis Suarez | 3-0, win | |
Wigan | 0-0 | Missed penalty | Charlie Adam | 1-0, win |
Arsenal | 1-2 | Missed penalty | Dirk Kuyt | |
| | Hit the post | Luis Suarez | |
| | Hit the post | Dirk Kuyt | 4-2, win |
If all of these opportunities had turned into goals, Liverpool would not only have had 12 more goals to their name, but they also would have had eight competition points.
And when you're fighting for a Champions League berth with three other teams, eight points can go a long way.
In fact, if all these opportunities had fallen Liverpool's way, they would indeed be sitting in fourth place with a three-point break back to Chelsea and Arsenal.
Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
While I am not naive enough to suggest that every time you hit the post it should have been a goal or could have gone in, they are tangible chances that went begging and opportunities that Liverpool missed to win the match.
The Reds haven't lost a match where they've scored two or more goals, and if they had capitalized on their opportunities with greater efficiency, they would still be in with a chance of playing in the UEFA Champions League.
As it stands however, the Reds are in seventh place and 10 points off reaching fourth place on the competition table.
Have as many Steven Gerrard hat-tricks as you like, but the Reds are not going to bridge that gap with the little time remaining in the English Premier League season.
At the end of the year, Liverpool will look back and rue their missed opportunities in 2012 from both statistical and reality standpoints.
Statistically, they will be frustrated at their wayward shooting and their inability to convert their on-target shots in to goals.
In reality, they will know that you cannot pass up 12 certain goals and still expect to be a genuine contender in the English Premier League.
It's not about taking more shots and at some level; it's not even about attacking more for Liverpool.
It's about creating chances by putting the ball on goal and taking the opportunities when they fall your way.
That's what it takes to make it to the Champions League and that's what it takes to win the English Premier League—things that Liverpool kicked away in 2012.
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