Let me take care of the disclosures first. Yes, this has been a frustrating start to the season. Yes, Liverpool's defense has been poor. No, I'm not excusing any of this. Ok, are we ready to move on?
RELAX! Listening to Liverpool supporters and the media, you would think the season was over and Liverpool finished mid-table. From comments such as "this team will never compete for anything" to the truly absurd "Klopp Out" calls, Liverpool supporters have lost their minds.
It is early in a long, grueling campaign. Yes, Liverpool have had some difficult results and yes they need to improve. But lets keep things in perspective.
To do this, lets first look at this start to last seasons. If you recall, through November Liverpool were near the top of the table within striking distance of the leaders. In fact, in the first week of December, the Reds were 4 points off the leaders. It wasn't really until Sadio Mane's absence that the Reds began slipping. So, they must have gotten off to a much better start last year right?
Wrong!
This season, through 5 Premier League matches, Liverpool have 8 points. Last season it was 10 points. Ok, not as good this year but not far off. Last season they had conceded 8 goals. This year 9. Wow, the horror! And, this season the Reds have to clean sheets through 5 while last year there were zero clean sheets. Again, it's early and there is no need to over-react.
Some will say, "Yeah well last years team didn't win anything so why compare this to that?" Fine. Let's look at the league champions. Chelsea after 5 games last season had 10 points. Liverpool currently have 8. Chelsea had 1 clean sheet. Liverpool has 2. If you go to the sixth game, which Chelsea lost last season, Chelsea stood at 10 points through 6. If Liverpool beat Leicester City Saturday, after 6 games the Reds will have 11 points. One MORE than the league champions had at this point last year!
Again, this isn't to make excuses or to claim the defense does not need improving. This is merely a demonstration that in a long season things change. The season is not over. There is much to play for. And if Liverpool are to compete, improvements are needed. But, they are on pace compared to both the Liverpool and Chelsea 2016/2017 starts. And that is why fans need to relax.