Manchester City vs Liverpool: Post-Match Thoughts

Yesterday, Liverpool faced their first big challenge of the season when they came up against Manchester City. Despite being the clearly superior team for large parts of the game they could not capitalise, and the clinical Manchester City ended up winning 3-1.

Much like our game against Southampton last week, Liverpool failed to make their trademark fast start. It’s disappointing to see this element of our game disappearing, as it was this that allowed us to be practically home and dry in some games after just half an hour last season. That said, we were into our rhythm before too long. After five minutes or so of having the lions share of possession, City were pushed back, and Liverpool started to get on top. Daniel Sturridge created one of the best opportunities, beating Vincent Komapny excellently with some skill then forcing a smart save out of Joe Hart at his near post. Despite all the pressure, Liverpool failed to make a breakthrough. This was, in part, down to some good defending from the reigning champions. However, the system of using a lone striker may also have played a part. Sturridge looked isolated for large parts of the game, and Coutinho’s poor performance meant the play from midfield into attack was, at times, disjointed.

It was inevitable really that, having dominated the game so much for so long, Liverpool would concede a soft goal. Such a goal came just before the break. New signing Alberto Moreno, who up to this point had looked good, was caught on the back foot when Dejan Lovren’s headed clearance fell towards him, and Stefan Jovetic nipped in to steal the ball and lash it home. It was a harsh welcome to the Premier League for Moreno- the pace of the games is quicker than perhaps in any other league in the world, and waiting for the ball to come to you will often, as it was on this occasion, be brutally punished. Due to this, Liverpool went into the break undeservedly behind.

Perhaps this shook Liverpool, for it was not the same bright, attacking side that came out for the second half. The defence looked worryingly vulnerable, and this proved to be the case after just 10 minutes of the half. It was Jovetic again who capitalised on some woeful defending, this time from Dejan Lovren. The Croatian wandered forward aimlessly, seemingly totally unaware of where he was in relation to the rest of the back line. This left Nasri with bags of room to slot a pass through to Jovetic, who finished well. Liverpool rallied a little after conceding, and the introduction of Lazar Markovic (in place of Philippe Coutinho) on 59 minutes certainly livened up our attacking play. Indeed, his clever interplay down the left with Moreno very nearly produced a goal just minutes after he came on. We started to produce some sustained pressure, and it looked as if we might just be able to drag ourselves back into the game. Sadly, it didn’t pan out that way. Aguero came on for the injured Dzeko with 21 minutes to play, and scored just seconds later, essentially killing off the game. Once more, question marks were raised over the defence. A nice ball from Jesus Navas carved open the entire back line, and Aguero raced through to smash the ball home past Mignolet.

At this point, Rodgers took off Sterling and brought on Rickie Lambert. The change certainly had a positive impact on the team, but not because of the quality of Rickie Lambert; it was the change in system that caused Liverpool to improve so dramatically at this point. Having two forwards instead of one just seemed natural, and our play became much more fluid and attacking. It was the two strikers, Sturridge and Lambert, who combined to get Liverpool a consolation goal. Sturridge whipped a ball into the box, and Lambert turned it goalwards. After some ricocheting off Hart and Zabaletta, the ball somehow found its way into the goal.

The fact that we improved so notably when playing with two strikers in encouraging. We have just brought in Mario Balotelli from AC Milan, and though some people are questioning whether he will succeed at Liverpool there is no doubt that he is a talented striker. Astute though the purchase of Lambert was (for just £4million, he offers a nice alternative option for desperate situations), he simply isn’t viable as a regular second striker as he cannot function in Liverpool’s high-pressing, fast-paced system. Balotelli, on the other hand, should be able to function well alongside Daniel Sturridge. It’s a shame the Italian wasn’t registered in time for the clash with City; if he had been, things might have panned out differently.

It is naturally extremely frustrating to have lost, especially to a team that come the end of the season are surely going to be right up there with us in the fight for the title, but it is only one game and the season is yet young. Although the game showed that there were still definite defensive deficiencies that need to be addressed, there were also lots of positives to take from the performance. To have outplayed the champions for the majority of the first half is an achievement, and, aside from being glaringly at fault for the first goal, Moreno had a pretty good game. For me, though, Markovic was the most encouraging thing to take from the game. When thrown into the mix, he immediately injected positivity and pace into our side, and made us look altogether more dangerous. It makes a refreshing change from last season to have players waiting on the bench who are good enough to come on and make a genuine impact.

Next up in Liverpool’s fixture list is another potentially challenging game. We play Tottenham at White Hart Lane; though I’m sure we all remember how well that went for us last year, Tottenham are already looking an improved side under Mauricio Pochettino. Indeed, though it means next to nothing so early on, Tottenham currently top the table. However, I think that, should Balotelli be able to make a smooth transition into the team right from the off (admittedly a big ask), then we have a very good chance of taking all three points.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

How Will Liverpool Line Up Next Season?

Photo: David Rawcliffe

The warning signs are there in the title to this article- the following piece of writing will contain no solid fact whatsoever. It will be almost entirely speculation on my part, and will, in all probability, turn out to be totally wrong. I am not blessed with the footballing brain of Brendan Rodgers, and as such my ideas of how Liverpool should play their football next season may not exactly tally up with his! Still, I’ll give it a shot.

One of the reasons it is so hard to determine exactly how Liverpool will look to play in the coming season is because the exact personnel of our starting eleven is unknown. It is a fair assumption that our midfield will be subject to a lot of rotation; we have more games this season due to being back in the Champions League (yay!), and Sterling, Markovic, Coutinho, Lallana, Ibe, Suso and Texeira are all capable of stepping up to the plate. All of these players can ply their trade in the number 10 role or in a wider position-this gives the side a huge amount of versatility. In some games we could opt for the raw pace of Sterling, Ibe and Markovic- this would lead to a deadly counter-attacking style. In other fixtures we could go down the route of sheer technical ability as opposed to pure pace; Coutinho, Lallana, Suso and Texeira are all extremely gifted on the ball. A combination such as this would lead to a shift towards the ‘total football’ style so widely discussed when Brendan Rodgers first took the reigns at LFC, as all of these players have exceptional passing ability. This ability to mix things up not only from game to game, but also within games, gives us a huge adaptability. This was something we were, to an extent, lacking last season.

All of this goes on the assumption that we will be playing three attacking players behind a lone striker- it is feasible that this might not be the case. The signing of Loic Remy from QPR looks imminent, and he is undoubtedly a talented player. It is inconceivable that he should push Daniel Sturridge out of the side, so perhaps Rodgers is planning on playing two up front. Of course, it could just be that Remy is being brought in to strengthen the squad, and is only being purchased as back-up, but the possibility of a two-man front line has to be considered.  With Remy out of the equation, a 4-2-3-1 would make the most sense: two of Can, Henderson, Gerrard and Allen could occupy the deeper roles, with a combination of the aforementioned midfielders in the three and Sturridge up front on his own. Once Remy is factored in, it becomes harder to predict what Rodgers might do. It is possible that he could revert to a formation he used at times last season- the formation he dubs ‘the 4-4-2 diamond’. Better known to some as the 4-1-2-1-2, this features one holding midfielder, two central midfielders and one out-and-out attacking midfielder playing behind two strikers. This was utilised sometimes last season to allow the SAS partnership to thrive; there is no reason to suggest that it might not be used once more to make full use of the SAR partnership (admittedly not quite as catchy). Though this could be deemed the most beneficial for Sturridge and Remy, it means there is only one attacking midfielder in the line-up, meaning multiple attacking midfielders would have to be played out of position. The signings of Lallana and Markovic this transfer window suggests to me that Rodgers is not looking to regularly go for the 4-4-2 diamond, and his preference is to opt for something closer to the 4-2-3-1 in order to make full use of our massive amounts of quality in the attacking midfield area.

The question many fans are most eager to find the answer to is whether Liverpool will play more defensively next season. Our one obvious shortcoming last season, the flaw in the team that ultimately cost us the title, was clearly our defence. As such, it would be ludicrous to suggest that Rodgers will not look to strengthen the team’s defensive qualities in one way or another. However, I don’t think he will look to address the defensive frailties by lining up in a more defensive manner. Liverpool’s main asset is their great attacking football, so to compromise that by committing fewer men forward would be akin to shooting oneself in the foot. Instead, I think it likely that our defence will be strengthened by means of new acquisitions in the transfer market. We have been persistently linked with Dejan Lovren since before the window opened, and he would not be a bad signing. The fees being bandied about are ridiculous, and I certainly don’t think he is worth the £20 million figure being cited, but he seems to be a solid centre-back. Other than Sakho we have no defenders who are good enough to be regular starters if we want to mount another serious title challenge, so the signing of Lovren (or similar) and at least one new full back is imperative. If we manage to bring in the right players, we won’t need to play in a manner any less attack-minded than last season, as we will have a defence which can be relied upon.

To sum up, there is no way of knowing for sure exactly what we’ll be seeing from Liverpool next season, but that’s all part of the excitement. On August 17^th the plans of Brendan Rodgers will start to be revealed, and we can begin to see for ourselves what Liverpool have in store for us in 2014/15. All we can do until then is hugely over-analyse pre-season games, get whipped up into frenzies about made-up transfer targets and altogether get carried away by the whirlwind of madness that is the close season. The only certainty is that, come what may next season, we will be behind the club with the huge support that can only be given by the best fans in the world.

 -James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Martin Kelly- Can he Solve LFC’s defensive problems?

Martin Kelly recently signed a new contract with Liverpool, a deal that was roundly welcomed by fans given the form he's displayed over the past few seasons. His performances at right back have shown potential, and it is clear he has enough skill to be in the first team now, rather than just being ‘one for the future’. He’s certainly not been perfect, but largely he's been solid, meaning many have marked him down as a potential regular Liverpool full-back for years to come. Now, with a longer-term deal in place, it seems Kelly may be able to try and fully establish himself into the full-back role.

The signing of a new contract by Kelly is good news, as he's clearly talented and, based on previous observations and on comments from Brendan Rodgers, there's a chance he could feature regularly at fullback or in central defence. Those are both areas that are in need of strengthening anyway, but signing him on for the future allows Rodgers to have a player that can play in almost any defensive role in the event of the club being hit by some sort of defensive injury crisis.

This brings me smoothly on to one of the main problems with Martin Kelly. After a stop-start beginning to his football career (because of back problems), he worked his way through the ranks at Liverpool and, after a loan spell at Huddersfield, made his first start for LFC in the 2009-2010 season. A groin injury kept him out shortly after, however, and in each of the next two seasons he spent significant chunks of time on the treatment table as well, both times with hamstring injuries. This year was arguably the worst of the lot, with a torn anterior cruciate ligament at Manchester United ruling him out for a long time (although it is rumoured he may return as early as next month).

That's a concerning string of injuries, but speaking the day after signing his new contract, he's confident that his return will mark the start of a long time injury-free.

"Today shows the faith that the club have in me and that the hard work I have put in since I was young has paid off. Hopefully I'll put the injuries behind me. We have excellent medical staff here, who are going to work with me and keep me on top of my injury. I'll be coming back even stronger."

If the signing's going to prove to be a good bit of business, he'll have to. The club have struggled for a number of years to have reliable depth at the back, and an investment made in his future has to bring with it the expectancy that he'll actually be able to play on a regular basis. His wages aren’t ridiculously high, but the commitment from the club is still a big one, and its money down the drain if he cannot play regular football for us.

In conclusion, Martin Kelly may well be able to help strengthen up Liverpool’s back four, and the fact that he has signed a new contract is very good for us. However, if he isn’t able to overcome his persistent injury troubles, he will be another name forgotten by history, and a lot of valuable money that could have been spent elsewhere wasted.

The Defence

Thanks partly to injury and partly to squad rotation, Liverpool have fielded many different back 4’s over the course of this season. In fact, some haven’t even consisted of 4 at the back. Brendan Rodgers has experimented with many different players in varying formations. The question is, which combination works best for LFC?

My personal favourite combination of defenders is (from right to left) Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique. They are all very talented, and Johnson and Enrique are very good at pushing forward and starting attacks. Indeed, Rodgers has experimented with playing them in the wing-back role, which in my opinion is extremely effective. When they play at wing-back, they are given more freedom to attack, which really unlocks their full potential. Obviously this means they have to track back a lot to make sure we aren't left vulnerable at the back, but when they do get caught too far up the pitch, Agger and Skrtel are solid defenders, perfectly capable of covering.

Unfortunately, this combination is not currently possible, as Jose Enrique is out injured. In his absence, Brendan Rodgers has been playing Johnson on the left and Wisdom on the right. This works fairly well, but I think Johnson is much more effective at right back. For this reason, I would play Downing at left back and keep Johnson at right back. Some may argue that Downing is needed as a winger in the front three, but personally I think that Sterling, Suarez and Sturridge is the best attacking combination.

Although I said earlier that my favourite pair of centre-backs is Agger and Skrtel, they may well have some competition for their places in the starting 11 when Martin Kelly returns from injury. Although he has often played as a full-back for Liverpool in the past, he is a centre-back by trade, and I think he works best there. Agger is a great defender, and I think he is certain to keep his place in the team, but Kelly may well give Martin Skrtel a run for his money. Skrtel, though usually solid, does make some costly mistakes. If Martin Kelly can show that he doesn't make such errors, he may well break into the first team once he recovers from his injury.

To summarise, my current favourite combination at the back is Johnson, Skrtel, Agger and Enrique. However, in the absence of Enrique I think Downing should function as a left back, and Skrtel may well lose his place when Kelly returns. It is good that Rodgers has been experimenting so much, but now we are more than midway through the season, we are at a stage where we need to consolidate our position. He should now pick the most effective combination of defenders, and stick with it until the end of the season.

The Wing-Back System- Ideal for LFC?

Over the past year, Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique have been very good full-backs for us. They have always had a tendency to venture forward, especially Johnson, and have also been solid when it comes to their defensive duties. However, under Rodgers, they have been moved slightly, into a more advanced ‘wing-back’ role.

I think that this is a very good idea. The new position gives the two players a lot more freedom to attack , which in my opinion has really brought out the best in Jose Enrique. He didn’t start the season well, but when Rodgers decided to play him as a wing-back, he came into his own. He has already got a few assists this season, and indeed a goal. Also, when necessary, he is able to get back and defend well. This means he is, in effect, able to contribute positively to both defence and attack, making him very useful.

The new wing-back system doesn’t really affect Glen Johnson’s play that much. He has always been an attacking full-back, and so in his new position he basically plays as he did before. However, now he knows he is able to attack and be sure of cover behind him, his marauding runs forward do have more freedom about them. Consequently he, like Enrique, has already managed to contribute with some goals and assists this season.

So it would seem that our defence is much improved thanks to the introduction of the wing-back role. On the face of it, that is true. However, there is always the imminent risk of injury. We saw this in the game against QPR, when Enrique limped off nursing his hamstring. Because of this, it would be good to bring in some back-up wing backs in the summer. I know this seems like a long way away, but it is important to plan ahead. Obviously there are some that immediately spring to mind who would be brilliant, such as Phillip Lahm or Marcelo, both of whom are hugely attacking full backs, but unfortunately they are both clearly out of our price range. One person who could be a viable option is Adriano, who plays for Barcelona. He is equally talented on both feet, meaning he could play on either side of the pitch, and at 28, though he probably still has quite a few years left in him, should not come at a premium price. If we were able to get him for around £15 million, I would say he would be a great buy.

To summarise, the introduction of the wing-back role to our club by Brendan Rodgers has been extremely effective. It has allowed us to become more attacking, and has brought the best out of Johnson and Enrique. The only real issue is that we don’t have much back-up, and so it would be great if we could look to bring someone in when it comes to summer.