Liverpool’s decay this season is not just a result of the absence of Luis Suarez. It’s because Brendan Rodgers neglects his own football philosophical core!
This blog will prove that the departure of Suarez is not the real reason for Liverpool’s poor season:
What charachterized Liverpool FC last season, was an extremely fast and creative attack. However, they missed out on their first title in 24 years due to a momentarily shaky defence.
This season, the pace and creative flow in the Liverpool attack seems lost, yet the only thing remaining from last season’s brilliant Liverpool side is the defensive vulnerability.
Why has Liverpool lost momentum?
THE ATTACK
Players come and go, but a manager’s vision and his tactical core must remain stable no matter what happens. No matter which tactical approach he preferes (even if he constantly changes formations), a manager needs a clear vision! Brendan Rodgers has a clear vision and he’s a cunning tactician. Sacking him now would be a desperate and ridiculous move, and very surprising considering the rare patience and long-term vision the Fenway Group has demonstrated so far. No doubt the season has been poor. The problem is that Rodgers has felt compelled to change his tactical core due to the absence of Suarez and the injuries of Sturridge. But if he’ll find his way again, if he sticks to his own principles and starts playing the same kind of football he did last year with fast and creative forwards, he might be able make Liverpool champions in a year or two. Even without Luis Suarez!
Until now, Brendan Rodgers’ transformation of the Liverpool Football Club has been a formidable revolution. The Liverpool success last this season did not come out of the blue. The ideas and strategies of Rodgers were already implemented by the players during the end of the 2012-13 season. The momentum continued without the banned Luis Suarez and when the Uruguayan star returned to the Premier League on Matchday 6 last season, Liverpool was already leading the league. With and without Suarez, Liverpool was flourishing playing high tempo football with high pressure and constant passing.
Both Sturridge and Suarez are fast and technical skilled strikers, which last season enabled the Reds to keep their attack fast and flowing. But let’s face it: Rickie Lambert is not a fast striker. During the transfer window, Rodgers felt he could use a target man-kind of striker to add a different kind of threat to his attack – but Lambert was only meant to be a part of this season’s team as a substitute. However injuries of Sturridge and Balotelli has made Lambert the present nr. 9, and even though he has fantastic vision and finishing abilities, he’s slowing the Liverpool attack down. But even worse, so is Mario Balotelli! Super Mario was Rodgers’ calculated risk in the transfer window, and it was an understandable gamble. Balotelli has extraordinary potential – he’s fast, strong and a great technician. But unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to link up with the brilliant creativity of Sterling, Lallana and Coutinho. If Balotelli, when fit, learns how to play high tempo, creative football, then he can be a state-of-the-art striker. Balotelli’s best game was against Tottenham where he (although he didn’t score) teamed up with Sturridge very nicely, which might indicate that Super Mario – just like Suarez – preferes not to be left alone, but to be part of a duo. I expect Balotelli to improve once Sturridge returns, but so far Mario hasn’t fullfilled his potential at all in a Liverpool shirt.
Instead of joining the fast passing game, both Lambert and Balotelli have a tendency to slip into the role of a “target man”. Waiting for the ball to arrive in the box in order to either pass or finish. Waiting for the ball in the box instead of seeking the ball whereever possible on the pitch. It’s predictable, easy to mark for the opposition and it’s slowing the Liverpool attack down. It’s stopping the creative flow from Sterling, Lallana and Coutinho.
Suarez leaving Liverpool for Barcelona was always going to be a tough blow for the Reds. But the injuries of Sturridge have had equally as serious consequences for the Liverpool season as the departure of Luis Suarez. Sturridge is not just a lethal finisher – he’s fast, creative and he passes well – sometimes as a striker, sometimes as a deep lying forward rotating positions with Sterling, Lallana or Coutinho. Lambert and Balotelli are more stationary strikers – both with great qualities, but a target man up front is the last thing Liverpool needs. And playing this kind of direct, predictable football marks a remarkable and regretable departure from Brendan Rodgers’ own football philosophical core.
The Liverpool-attack’s new, slow tempo is the real reason for the club’s poor season so far!
And Rodgers seems trapped in the decision to use his new signings at any cost.
Liverpool scored 101 league goals last season, Suarez scored 31, Sturridge netted 21 times. If you take away the Suarez goals it’s 70 (United won the league in 2009 scoring 68 goals). I know the prolific Uruguayan did more than score goals – he lifted the quality of the entire team. But with Steven Gerrard making more assists than anyone else in the league last season (and with Sturridge, Hendo and Coutinho making 7 assists each), it should have been possible for this season’s Liverpool side to at least secure a Champions League spot by using the same tactics as last year. But apparently Sturridge’s injuries has forced Rodgers to abandon these tactics.
But is there a way to restore the free-flowing attacking football from last season?
I’m surprised Brendan Rodgers insists on using Lambert and Balotelli – they are both great strikers, but they don’t fit into the high tempo, almost tiki-taka-like kind of attacking football Rodgers prefered last season. With Sturridge out injured, Rodgers could of course have considered giving Fabio Borini more than one chance to prove himself, but my suggestion would be this:
Try Raheem Sterling in a striker position!
BR himself has compared the qualities of Sterling with the ones of a young Lionel Messi. Then why not try Sterling in what has proved to be Messi’s favorite position: the deep lying forward (or false nine)? I know Sterling isn’t much of a finisher, but apart from that, he has many abilities in common with Sturridge and even Suarez. Sterling is the fastest of those three. and having his speed and creativity in front of goal would allow the Liverpool attack to flow once again. Yes, he probably would miss a lot of chances himself, but with Sterling as number nine, at least Liverpool would create chances again! And he and his teammates would definately score more goals than they are doing right now, where they are not creating nearly as many chances as they did last season.
Even when Daniel Sturridge returns from injury, the previous seasons have shown us, that Sturridge also thrives when having a fast and creative partner in front of goal, and Liverpool’s most scintillating matches last season were when BR required two men up front in a 4-4-2 diamond formation. In this context, Divock Origi seems like a great signing, But LFC needs at least two strikers with both pace and creativity, and right now only Sturrridge has both abilities – and unfortunately he has been injured a lot.
So… Why not try Sterling?
One thing is certain, if Rodgers continues to use either Lambert or Balotelli alone upfront, Liverpool won’t play at their best, the results won’t come and Brendan might risk getting sacked. And rightly so. Rodgers is standing at the crossroads right now. If he returns to his own tactical principles, he can be the Liverpool manager for years to come, perhaps even securing a title in a couple of years when his young players reach their peak. But if he keeps neglecting his own tactical core (the high-tempo attack), he’ll get fired. Soon.
THE DEFENSE
As regular readers of this blog may remember, I have been screaming for a reinforcement of the Liverpool midfield for years now (you can scroll down and read the blog from August 2013).
Several times I’ve pointed out the need of a defensive midfielder to LFC, but after Steven Gerrard has been deployed in this role, let me rephrase it:
Right now Liverpool FC are in a desperate need of a ball winning, central midfielder!
During Rodgers’ reign at LFC, the returning problem has been the defense. And even though there have been many personal mistakes by defenders, I believe the real reason for the defensive vulnerability, is the lack of physical strength and defensive skills in the midfield. The lack of ball winning midfielders exposes the Liverpool defense over and over again. It was also the problem last season, but many people didn’t acknowledge it then, because the passing and the possession worked so well – and to some degree it’s true, you don’t need a a strong and physical midfield if you are passing it around well enough to keep possession and let the opponents chase the ball. However, even though Joe Allen is a fantastic player, he’s simply not strong enough in the physical battles as a central midfielder – to be a ball winning, central midfielder.
Inspired by Pep Guardiola, Brendan Rodgers originally wants to dominate the midfield with ball possession, short passes, the use of only one defensive midfielder and an ongoing passing flow with two energetic and creative midfielders. But he has lately been using a traditional Mourinho-like 4-2-3-1 formation, with two defensive midfielders. Maybe it’s related to the issues I just addressed: maybe he wants to strengthen the midfield or perhaps he wants to prevent the lack of attacking flow from exposing the defense. And Rodgers has used 4-2-3-1 before, but having seen how effective his prefered 4-3-3 was last season, and also my personal favorite Liverpool formation the 4-4-2 diamond, the fact that he has gone back to 4-2-3-1 seems a little desperate and is another sign of how he feels compelled to overlook his own principles. I predict the attacking game will improve dramatically when the fast and creative striker Daniel Sturridge returns fully fit. And when the attacking game starts working, the whole balance of the team improves, and BR will probably then return to 4-3-3.
In 4-3-3, Gerrard is the only defensive or holding midfielder, with two central midfielder in front of him.
Gerrard is not a natural defensive midfielder, but due to his football genius he’s capable of playing every position on the pitch remarkably well. He sometimes has a tendency to react to the opposition rather than to be proactive in his new role as DM, but his out-of-this-world long passes add various possibilities to the Liverpool attack – sometimes short passing and possession, sometimes a direct pass from the captain to suit the speed of Sterling or Sturridge. So for the sake of Premier League, I hope the old Captain Fantastic will be able to cover this position for a couple of years to come. Lucas Leiva is his replacement as holding midfielder. Lucas had a bad start this season, but many people don’t realize how important he is to the balance of the team. A fine ball winning midfielder, but originally a typical versatile Brazilian central midfielder with great attacking skills as well (something that Rodgers sometimes forgets, just as Kenny Dalglish and Roy Hodgson also overlooked Lucas’ attacking potential). If Lucas is to leave Anfield this winter, Rodgers has to bring in a quality replacement!
Henderson keeps improving all the time – energetic and creative! He can become a true Liverpool legend. He has established himself as one of the two required central midfielders in a 4-3-3 formation, but the other central midfielder position is up for grabs. Joe Allen is fast but not strong, Emre Can has great potential but is still young. Lallana, Sterling and Coutinho are all not strong enough defensively to cover this position in the big games – they are attacking midfielders, not central midfielders. So I repeat myself:
Liverpool needs a ball winning, central midfielder!
A player with physical presence, who can break down the opponents’ attack, yet a player creative and fast enough to join the brilliant passing game of Sterling, Coutinho and Sturridge. Of course it would be unlikely to see Paul Pogba, Sami Khedira, Arturo Vidal or even Xabi Alonso in a Liverpool shirt, but there are other more realistic targets: Maxime Gonalons from Lyon comes to mind. Or perhaps his fellow frenchmen Moussa Sissoko, Yohan Cabaye or Blaise Matuidi could fill this role. Or the Swiss Granit Xhaka or the German Lars Bender.
TRANSFERS
Evaluating Liverpool’s last transfer window, unfortunately for the Reds all my worries have come true. Let’s take a short look at the signings:
Mario Balotelli:
I noticed that he scored most of his goals last season at AC Milan on penalties, but I still think he was a gamble worth taking at that price, due to his exceptional talent. I hope he can become a part of, and contribute to, the Liverpool trademark passing game from last season. Until then, he won’t be successful at Anfield.
Dejan Lovren:
he had a great season last year at Southampton, but his previous seasons in Lyon didn’t quite justify the huge price tag. As I said, the real problems in the Liverpool defense are to be found on the midfield rather than in the defense. When confident, Lovren is a sensational player, though hardly better than Agger or Sakho.
Rickie Lambert:
A good signing if Rodgers had sticked to the plan: just using Lambert as a powerful sub when LFC needed physical presence in the box
Alberto Moreno:
the best signing of the summer! He’s young and he has had some bad games, but he can be the best left back in the world in a couple of years!
Javier Manquillo:
a fine player. Worked particularly well with Henderson on the right flank in the 4-4-2 diamond. Still needs to prove he’s the long term replacement for Glen Johnson.
Adam Lallana:
Great signing! Not improving the A-team by being better than Coutinho or Sterling, but an excellent alternative! He has been the only positive surprise for me.
Emre Can:
A fine signing. A great talent! Although I’m surprised if LFC didn’t try to sign Can’s fellow young, German midfield talents: Lars Bender, Sven Bender, Christoph Kramer or Ilkay Gündogan
Lazar Markovic:
When judging a player, youtube clips aren’t exactly scientific proof. And I admit, I didn’t know Markovic before he signed for LFC, but no matter how many clips I saw last August, I couldn’t find a single clip that justified the enormous price tag for this guy. I don’t doubt he’s a fantastic talent, but a loan deal next season might do him good.
Brendan Rodgers has made some fantastic signings during his time as Liverpool manager, such as Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho, and I understand the main priority in the last transfer window was to secure the depth in the squad going into a Champions League season. I guess the medical staff had their reasons to abort the signing of Loïc Remy, and it was a good thing Rodgers didn’t sign Wilfried Bony – another strong, yet too slow and stationary striker for the Liverpool attacking-game. The Balotelli gamble hasn’t paid off yet, and in hindsight Ezequiel Lavezzi probably would have been a better match for the club, but Rodgers’ biggest mistake so far, when it comes to transfers, is that he hasn’t bought a world class midfielder. I was shocked to see Barcelona’s Alexander Song go to West Ham. A Liverpool midfield consisting of Gerrard, Henderson and Alex Song would have made a significant difference, just as Song has been vital for the Hammers’ great success this season and current 4th position in the league table.
Modern football is fought in midfield.
I believe the midfield is the root of the problems in the Liverpool defense, and I hope Rodgers corrects this mistake in the upcoming transfer windows.
But first of all, I hope Brendan Rodgers returns to his own tactical core – that includes the 4-3-3 formation and most importantly: fast and creative strikers.
woldemort1 