After a disappointing week in the Champions League, a win would have been the perfect remedy. But a goalless draw saw the Reds slip up yet again and continuing the poor start to the season. Rodgers again showed faith in Mario Balotelli and rightly so, with the Italian playing the full 90 minutes.
1) The 4-1-2-1-2
Being a football fan can be incredibly frustrating at times, you have your own ideas on how the game should be played but no way to influence a team in anyway at all. The one tactical aspect it seems all Liverpool fans are agreed on is how much better we look when they use the 4-1-2-1-2 diamond formation. Playing two up top gives us more of a goal threat and allows us to play with the 3 midfielders in which we look much more comfortable.
So why isn’t Rodgers playing it? Well surely it comes down to the strikers he has at his disposal. Rickie Lambert, for all his strengths, is a target man with good technique. So when he plays, he needs someone next to him who’ll do the running in behind, which unfortunately Balotelli doesn’t offer. Which then brings us to Borini, who surely fits into the category of striker that would work well with either Balotelli or Lambert, so does that mean that Rodgers just doesn’t think he’s good enough? Thank goodness we have Sturridge, who should thrive in the role when partnered with Mario Balotelli.
2) Can in a starting role
There have been plenty of negatives so far this season, but Emre Can has been one of the bright sparks whenever he’s been on the pitch. He’s very strong, good on the ball and his positional sense is fairly good for such a young kid. But I think he could be used more effectively.
Against Swansea I’d like to see him play just in front of the back four, where he can use his physical ability to cover the gaps when the wing-backs push forward, drive from midfield which will add another threat to our attack and finally it’ll give him a great deal of confidence. He can learn a lot from Gerrard too, how to control the space and tempo of a game etc. which he did fantastically well last season.
This season our team selection and tactics haven’t been very good and we’ve been getting poor results. Rodgers needs to be brave to turn this around, maybe giving Can a starting role could be that spark we need.
3) Manquillo > Johnson
I was starting to get worried. After seeing Johnson start the last two games against QPR and Real Madrid I thought that was it, he’d be first choice with Manquillo playing a few games here and there. But the selection of Johnson means one of two things: A) Johnson is being rested for the game against Swansea and will be first choice or B) Rodgers chose to play Manquillo over Johnson because he wants the better players to play in the Premier League.
Glen Johnson does have some positive aspects to his game, but overall he just isn’t good enough for a top Premier League side. But in my opinion neither is Manquillo! Yes he has bags of potential and for such a young kid he is solid defensively and improving his attacking game. But is he better than Seamus Coleman? No. But the only way he will become better than him is by playing regular games, so for that reason alone, Manquillo should be our first choice RB.
4) Balotelli is now a scapegoat
If we back Balotelli and make him feel loved then he will succeed at Anfield. If we turn our backs on him after 9 games then he will be labelled a flop. He didn’t even play badly on Saturday, yes he should have scored but the intention is there. He’s starting to understand he needs to work harder whilst on the pitch and to me at least, it seems he’s doing that.
But I have great sympathy towards him. He’s so isolated up front that it’s almost impossible for him. He needs support from midfield, which he doesn’t get, and he also needs a capable strike partner. Thankfully we have Sturridge, if it wasn’t for him then I’d be very worried about Mario’s chances of succeeding here. But I think Sturridge will bring the best out of him and a lot of pundits and fans alike will be changing their minds.
Conclusion
Another frustrating day at the office, but it’s another point closer to where we want to be. Thankfully our rivals for the top 4 places aren’t doing great either, which means we haven’t lost too much ground just yet.
Comments.
Loading comments…