On a day where Liverpool weren't at their best but were never in genuine peril, frustrations were relatively low at Anfield on Saturday. Three goals came at the right time to smooth over any bumps as Crystal Palace were eventually brushed aside, but from my vantage point, there was still one person who brought out the boo boys.Linesman Adrian Holmes may have the physique of a man you wouldn't want to question, but in the anonymity of the Main Stand, plenty were doing just that and worse every time he failed to raise his flag for what appeared an obvious offside. Frustrating as it may be to all watching, it's worth noting that Holmes was doing precisely as he has been told. In the VAR era, the directive is not to flag at the point the offside occurs for the sake of playing on, with any errors fixable once the ball is dead. As one of the strands of VAR that seem to be producing more as opposed to less goals, most observers agree that the good outweighs the bad. However, for Liverpool in particular, it's far from a perfect solution.Teams who adopt a high defensive line are particularly vulnerable to this scenario, with a perfectly executed plan potentially ruined by the need to go through the pantomime of trying to stop a goal that wouldn't count. The stop-start nature of this process often involving the requirement to sprint at full speed from a standing start puts players at unnecessary risk of injury. Not only does Liverpool's line sit higher than Simon Cowell's waistband, but they're also trying to nurse Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez & Joël Matip back from long-term injury and introduce Ibrahima Konaté to the unique demands placed on a Liverpool centre-back. On the face of it, it's a recipe for disaster.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesAccording to the new Premier League guidelines, released in September 2020: "When an immediate goalscoring opportunity is likely to occur, the assistant referee will keep their flag down until the passage of play is completed. Once a goal is scored, or the chance is gone, the assistant will then raise the flag to indicate the initial offence. If a goal is scored, the VAR will then review the offside judgement."As is a common theme regarding VAR, one of the main issues with the new laws stems from their implementation. The ball can take minutes and multiple phases of play to go dead from any incident of alleged offside. In that time, it's easy for an assistant referee to forget to raise their flag. We have often seen a player clearly in an offside position denied a chance at goal, but able to benefit from an attacking set-piece either a throw-in or a corner.The current system simply doesn't punish players enough for being offside. We have seen how teams and players adapt to new rules: they instantly set about finding loopholes. You can be sure there are forwards who are already thinking about winning a corner instead of taking a shot when they suspect they're offside. There are other benefits to the attacking team, as Andy Robertson highlighted after a stale 0-0 draw with Manchester United last season. A stop-start affair, during which Ole Gunnar Solskjær's men were caught offside eight times:"Sometimes the momentum of the game can change because they get belief that they've just had a shot on goal, and we think he's three yards offside, so why hasn't it stopped."Momentum in sport is dismissed as meaningless by as many as those who insist it holds the key to ultimate victory. Often the evidence is hard to ignore. An unexpected consequence of VAR has been the lift a team receives from having a potential deficit erased. Liverpool were the beneficiaries in the FA Cup 4th round match against Shrewsbury last February.The visitors were robbed of their big moment by an offside flag, and the relief lit a fire under the Anfield crowd and Neil Critchley's under-23s, thrown into the action during the Premier League's mandated winter break. The young Reds threw off the shackles, building pressure that led to the decisive own goal. We can see momentum's power but also its fragility.In situations where a team comes to Anfield simply to frustrate Jürgen Klopp's men, as Solskjær often has during his time at Old Trafford, even attempting a shot can fuel their efforts to keep going. Liverpool have struggled to find that clinching second goal at times in recent seasons, leaving them vulnerable to a team clinging on to belief by their fingernails.Sometimes an attacker will be so offside that they can't fool themselves into thinking they've created a real chance. And yet, as Robertson explains, even then, there are potentially serious issues:"(For) one of them Trent sprinted back 40 yards to try and slide tackle, and he's miles offside, so Trent's done an extra sprint and was then out of position so it is frustrating. When it's clear and obvious by three-four yards what is the point in playing on?"Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesThis debate has focused on the potential for injury in the broader football discourse, but for Liverpool, the positioning element could be the biggest problem. It's undoubtedly going to occur more frequently, with so many teams setting up against Liverpool to play on the counter-attack and Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold instructed to get into the final third as often as possible.So what is the solution? Are Liverpool fans destined to watch this season in a state of constant peril, awaiting the inevitable? While it appears an increasingly popular solution, there is no indication that the world's football authorities could or would agree to scrap VAR altogether. There is evidence that in other areas, such as marginal offside rulings, progress has been made. Decisions are now, by and large, quicker and more transparent.One solution might be to allow the assistant referee to follow their instincts and put up their flag the moment they suspect an offside has occurred. The referee could acknowledge the flag and play on as before; the attacking side would retain the ability to score in the event of a mistake.For the defensive side, there would also be a critical acknowledgement. They will likely still feel the need to chase back playing to the whistle is still one of the strongest instincts in football but it would eliminate the chance for any second phase advantages to the offside team.We are in for a close title race in a Premier League season with three excellent sides and no outstanding candidate. There will be seemingly pivotal moments every week, as every goal conceded could be THE goal, and every point dropped could be THE point that denies Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester City the championship.The hope is that if it isn't to be for Liverpool this year, it doesn't come down to an error of someone else's making.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated Articles