Liverpool 0-3 West Ham: Post-Match Analysis

In an action-packed day of Premier League fixtures, two red cards and a 3-0 away defeat for a side that had previously conceded no goals this season was fairly run of the mill. Certainly there was nothing more than average about the Liverpool performance; impotence going forward coupled with defensive ineptitude, the now familiar recipe seen for much of last season, once again served up a hugely disappointing result. An admittedly well-drilled West Ham side took full advantage of our mediocre (at best) play, choosing their moments to get forward and punish our vulnerable back line.

The only real positive to be taken from the defeat is that it clearly demonstrated the two areas of weakness that need addressing. Unfortunately these two areas happen to be the two fundamental parts of football: defence and attack! However, neither our front nor back lines looked beyond repair. The defence would be improved immediately by the removal of Lovren and installation of Sakho – the Croatian did us a favour by making his error for the second goal glaringly obvious, meaning even Rodgers must surely realise it’s time to give Sakho a chance. Seeing as the main (largely misdirected) criticism of the Frenchman is that he’s clumsy on the ball, it’s impossible to justify playing Lovren ahead of him: he’s hardly Maradona himself. Skrtel, too, looked pretty woeful; while he made no errors leading directly to goals, his half-hearted headed clearance certainly didn’t help matters for the visitors’ opener. Sadly, though, he appears to be pretty much an ever-present in the team, and unless Rodgers goes it seems unlikely that Gomez or perhaps Ilori will be given a chance in Skrtel’s stead. In terms of the attack, the problem is the same as it was last season – we simply aren’t creating enough chances. If anything the arrival of Benteke has exacerbated that problem; when short of ideas and options we are now simply hoofing it up to the Belgian, whose knock-downs are not being picked up by anyone in a red shirt. At least last season we would persist with passes on the edge of the opponent’s box and occasionally manage to carve an opening – unless Rodgers changes the way his team are trying to utilise Benteke, it’s hard to see where any chances will come from against deep-sitting teams this campaign.

Hopefully Brendan either addresses this issue or gets replaced, but in the short term the only goals we look like getting are from pieces of individual inspiration. Coutinho scored a screamer against Stoke in the first game and, promisingly, Firmino came extremely close against the Hammers. He jinked past two with a lovely piece of skill before firing towards Randolph’s goal – only the post prevented him from marking his home debut in great style. He has already impressed with his pressing off the ball since arriving, but on the ball we have not seen too much of the skill we all know he possesses: this excellent effort was a good reminder amidst the mediocrity that the near future is not completely bleak. When Firmino really gets going, Coutinho returns from suspension and Sturridge returns then there should be enough pace and trickery to at least partially solve the chance creation issue, and hopefully it won’t be too late to salvage any damage done early on.

It must also be remembered that, prior to this game, no damage had really been done. We took maximum points from the first two and managed to leave the Emirates with a draw – by any standards, this was a solid start. Of course performance is important, but the fact that we picked up points despite poor play in the first three games means that we have a degree of leeway. We remain three points clear of the champions and level on points with Arsenal, so it’s hardly like we’re being left behind. If it takes a few more games to get into our stride then so be it – it’s only if we’re still putting in performances like this come November sort of time when we’ve really got a problem.

On the whole, then, this match should not necessarily be taken as disastrous. Ignoring the worrying signs from the match would be ridiculous, but equally there is simply nothing to be gained from reading too much into one game. There are definitely things to work on and lessons that Rodgers needs to learn quickly, both for the sake of the club and his job, but until we see clear signs that this performance and result was the rule rather than the exception then there is no need to panic. Let’s all just calm down!

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

BR’s Transfer Tactics- Are Foreign Signings the Right Approach?

This summer transfer window, Brendan Rodgers has got to work quickly.  Kolo Toure has already been signed (he officially joins the club on July 1^st), the deal between Iego Aspas and Liverpool looks to be effectively complete, and we also appear to be closing in on signing Tiago Ilori. Aspas is an exciting young Spanish talent who plays in the wide forward role for Celta Vigo, whilst Kolo Toure (Man City) and Tiago Ilori (Sporting) are both central defenders. They all look to be good acquisitions, but should Rodgers be searching closer to home for new players?

Kolo Toure is by no means an inspiring signing, but he is a sensible one. He came to Liverpool on a free, having run out of contract at Manchester City. It is unlikely he will get regular first team action, but he is a very experienced centre-back, and his presence in the squad should put pressure on the likes of Martin Skrtel (and potentially Tiago Ilori if he joins) to perform well in order to fight for their place in the team. The only issue with the deal is Toure’s relatively large wage demands, believed to be about 70k a week, which is a lot to be forking out to a player who isn’t even getting first team action. He will have a positive impact on the club, even if it is just giving the other centre-backs a metaphorical kick up the backside, but the money we’re spending on his wages could have been better invested elsewhere, possibly on a young, homegrown talent with lots of potential.

However, there is a problem with ‘buying British’ in the football world. English players that have really made a name for themselves tend to be hideously overpriced, and an equivalent overseas talent cam often be acquired for half the fee. Brendan Rodgers appears to have taken this into account, and we know he is good at spotting up-and-coming foreign talents based on Coutinho’s instant success at the club. This means that the only feasible way of signing English players is taking a gamble, and buying a player who has gone relatively un-noticed by pundits, potentially someone from the lower end of the football league. A prime example of this tactic paying off is Norwich’s signing of full-back Russell Martin. He started his career at Wycombe (where I watched him a lot, as I used to have a season ticket there), then moved to Peterborough. Norwich then took him on loan for a season, as a sort of trial run. He impressed them, and they then proceeded to buy him the following season. He is now a regular in the Norwich first team, and is one of their better players. It’s a risky tactic, but buying young players who have slipped under the pundits’ radar can prove very effective.

With Aspas and Ilori, the situation is slightly different. They are both young and upcoming talents, and Ilori in particular is not very renowned. Aspas has attracted a large amount of praise and attention from Spanish pundits, but until very recently was practically unknown in England. In these cases, it is pointless to try and buy an equivalent British player. Aspas is going to cost approximately 9 million, and for a player who has attracted so much attention in the top division of Spanish football that is very cheap. An English wide striker who had shown a lot of talent in the Premier League would most likely set you back at least double that. It’s the same story with Ilori. He is relatively unknown, but has still been capped 4 times this year for the Portugal under-20’s. The rumoured fee is around three-and-a-half million. Swansea signed Danny Graham for that sum in 2011, even though the forward had only scored 38 goals in almost 100 appearances for Watford in the Championship. This goes to show that unless you are looking to make a gamble on a really obscure talent, it’s not worth buying English players. As a general rule, those who have managed to make a name for themselves are massively overvalued by their club (looking at you, Tom Ince and Blackpool), forcing Premier League clubs to look to the foreign market. It’s sad in a way, as the top division of English football is now swamped with foreign talent, which isn’t how it should be. However, the Premier League clubs can’t be blamed for looking abroad in order to get better players for cheaper prices, and so far in this transfer window Liverpool appear to be doing so very effectively.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013