Silly season. I detest it. Practically every little inch of it. The false links to leave publications sat back, feet up, feeling the clicks.
The faux outrage at anyone rumoured to be joining Liverpool who doesn’t have some touch of the exotic. The opportunistic hordes who claim to know what’s happening inside the confines of Melwood and Chapel Street only to be as right as a left foot. The Usain Bolt dash to YouTube to watch videos, which we know only showcase the beautiful bits, yet still leave people feeling like they’ve bedded Miss World when it’s only Miss From The Hair Salon Down The Road with exceptional make-up application.
The expectation is as tall as Peter Crouch when the reality is as short as Michael Owen. The endless hope for a magic pill of a player who comes in, fixes all ills, and takes us to a whole new world. The incessant whining when a club targets X,Y,C instead of the A,B,C you wanted. The furore when a target there was no chance of landing, and of little interest to begin with, ends up at the destination they were always going to arrive at.
Perhaps, above all, the most annoying aspect of the transfer window is that it has this saviour air to it — your club can go from Clark Kent to Superman with some powerful recruitment, yet at the close of business, kryptonite always seems to win. Sorry lads and ladies, no superhero to see here.
The rinsing and repeating of mistakes can wrestle the most bullshitting of ITKs and win the annoyance stakes hands down.
So, then Christian Benteke. With Daniel Sturridge only expected on the field again around mid to late October, a premier forward is the priority for Liverpool. A lot is said of the club’s transfer strategy, but can you term it that when the funds and willingness to buy Alexis Sanchez then becomes a punt on (he of medical-failing fame) Loic Remy, who is swerved because — surprise — he fails a medical, and ends with a gamble on Mario Balotelli who, given the football philosophy and the unwillingness to pair him with a partner, would have been better served as the club’s social media manager, which then swings into town again and heads to Benteke?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umN3XJrOgoQ
What exactly does the club want up front? A forward who makes intelligent runs, worries defenders with pace and movement, opens up spaces, links well with other technicians, presses incessantly, and is regularly on the scoresheet? Or a forward who heads well, bullies defenders with power, drops deeper to collect the ball — often in the space your technicians operate in — and can finish well?
The Belgian would represent a good buy for several Premier League sides, but not for Liverpool for a few reasons.
Benteke’s injury record over the past two seasons reads: groin, knee, Achilles, hip. Given Daniel Sturridge’s time on the treatment table, the Reds cannot afford to recruit another fragile striker — especially one that is priced in the region of £30million.
He is unplayable on his day, but his day doesn’t happen often enough. Benteke netted in nine Premier League games for 2014-15 and in eight the season before. The club need to have a season-long threat, and while his numbers are not bad, he most certainly is not made for a marathon given recent history.
His playing style is at complete odds with the philosophy. One of Liverpool’s core issues in the recently concluded campaign was the clash between personnel and the pillars of Brendan Rodgers’ blueprint. Rickie Lambert and Balotelli both stifled and nullified the strengths of Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool’s Player of the Season.
They had neither the appetite to press, nor the desire to be constantly on the move. The lack of choreography and pace up front did not just hurt the Brazilian; Raheem Sterling found himself ahead of play and isolated, Steven Gerrard was a quarterback with no receivers, Jordan Henderson’s runs from deep were pointless without a buzz in front of him to occupy the opposition, Adam Lallana had to hold onto the ball longer than was ideal and Lazar Markovic got into the habit of passing backwards without decent forward options to feed. The disjointed nature of the attack was much more frightening and real than the Enfield Haunting.
“If you cannot press, you cannot be in the team,” was Rodgers’ reason as to why Balotelli was on the bench, or updating his Instagram on match days. Keep that quote because Benteke does not defend from the front, it is not in his arsenal. Can you teach him to add it to his game? Why would you drop £30m on an answer you’re not sure of, especially when you’ve had an entire season to see that when the philosophy and personnel are a Ferrari and a Fiat, you’re going to have a car crash on the pitch.
The 24-year-old, like Balotelli, likes to drop deeper, take touches and have a crack from distance. The Aston Villa man will thus often want to operate in the space that sees Coutinho conjure his magic. Why would you copy and paste a situation that deters your best player? Another concern is Benteke’s poor pass success — 66.7 per cent this season — one of his major weaknesses is being wasteful with the ball. For comparison purposes, Sanchez’s is 76.8, Aguero’s is 85.7 and Sturridge’s is 79.2. He can also infuriate with his inability to stay onside.
Liverpool’s frontline needs to be fluid and fluent: pressing, key passes, dribbles and through balls are important assets for a team intending to be aggressive in and out of possession. Benteke’s greatest strengths is his aerial threat, direct free kicks and shots from distance. Chalk and cheese.
An argument can be made that perhaps Liverpool’s attack needs some balance — a beast among the beauties. Well, that was the ideology with both Lambert and Balotelli and we know how that story ended. Before you point to the fact Benteke had a much better term than either, look at the goals both registered before joining a playing environment that doesn’t suit them.
How many times this season has the sentence ‘the difference Alexis Sanchez would’ve made to Liverpool’ been delivered by the likes of Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville? Has anyone (aside from the transfer committee) thought that Benteke is an answer to the club’s issues in attack? That he is exactly what is required?
Liverpool’s strike force 2014-15: Sturridge, Lambert, Balotelli, Borini. A grand total of eight league goals.
Liverpool’s potential strike force next season: Sturridge, Benteke, Ings, Origi. Who do you put your house on here to hit 20 in the top flight? Who dominates throughout the campaign? What’s the hierarchy? Is there one? Do Sturridge and Benteke dovetail? Who does the pressing between them then? What happens if Daniel and Christian are sidelined? Do you risk another situation when your three and four become your main ‘threat’? What happens if some of the blanks don’t shoot off elsewhere? Given the failings in front of goal, is this the strongest possible solution? Are the scouts exploring every possible avenue and advantage? Are we being smarter and bolder than those above us?
Smarter. And bolder. That is not an option for Liverpool, it is a requisite. Chelsea, United, City and Arsenal are in the plush seats. We have to see the space before them, play the passes quicker, anticipate better, shoot harder…
But ‘it’s not that simple’, ‘the wage bill’ ‘the odds are against us…’ Those soundbites are for a club happy with sixth and seventh and who count Tottenham as peers not the Arsenals, let alone the Chelseas. This is the reality, but it can’t continue to be or Liverpool should simply become bezzie mates with mediocrity.
For a second – scratch that – for as long as it takes, let this table of the club’s league finish over the past six seasons sink in:
2009-10 | 7th | 63
2010-11 | 6th | 58
2011-12 | 8th | 52
2012-13 | 7th | 61
2013-14 | 2nd | 84
2014-15 | 6th | 62
Rewind to the balls of the 2013-14 season: showing and telling teams ‘all the best’. It didn’t bring a title, but it brought fearlessness and fun. It put a scare in Manchester, it spooked London. So close and now we’re here again — so far. The club didn’t replace Luis Suarez’s footballing catalogue or adequately account for Sturridge’s history with injuries, and it still doesn’t look like they will.
That season was the exception, not the expectation. And it will remain as such until Liverpool decide if they exist to win trophies, or if they simply say they do.
Silly season. I detest it.
Couldn’t agree more! Last season we found something special and unique that worked for us and even though suarez left it seemed obvious that we just keep buying players to fit the system, unfortunately we did the opposite and I fear we will not see the system or style again and it infuriates me.
Stewart the problem is so much of that style was and revolved around Luis, you watch videos of him on youtube and realise just how incredible he was.. So strong, so much energy and intensity, pressing from the front, bullying defenders, leaving space for other players, as well as absolute world class ability and skill on the ball and finishing, and never injured.. He was truly our Maradona and made every player better he played alongside.. Arguably he gave the season of his life in the knowledge that Barca/Real were waiting for him! You take him out of the team and we are left with shadows of the players who played alongside our genius last year.. Only Coutinho and arguably Hendo has improved everyone else has declined.. If reports about Benteke and Balo staying are true i’m not even sure Brendan knows what he wants our style to be!!
And he inspired those around him with his energy and never say die attitude: Suarez was our leader on the pitch.
Look at the highlights of Sturridge, Coutinho, Sterling, Henderson, and Gerrard. Suarez was amazing, but it was far more a collective than is popularly acknowledged.
If FSG went all out on Lacazette, a fight worth having, we would immediately contend for the title. Maybe not get there, but be in “the conversation.”
The days of Suarez and Studge and 100 goals are gone. We cannot replace Suarez and he was the absolute key to the system. I think Rodgers realises this and will adapt the system to include a proven (ish) 20 goal threat to work with/replace Sturridge. Benteke is the best available in the PL unless I am missing someone so it makes sense to me to try and get him. Also, better is better and he is much better than we have.
Good read, Melissa.
I think it has to be said, though, that what the fans want to see – ie., Liverpool 2013-14 with a better defence – is completely at odds with how Rodgers sees us going forward. People will say we wanted Sanchez, but he was destined to play wide; he’s not a ‘9’ like Suarez. Last summer, Rodgers pushed hard for Bony, last season’s Benteke. He wants to emulated Swansea 2011-12 once again with us – mobile target man up front, linking play, dropping deep, with fast inverted wingers/inside forwards running beyond their man into the space behind. Benteke is a souped-up Danny Graham, Sturridge & Sanchez better versions of Routledge & Dier.
If we wanted another Suarez, or even another Sturridge, there are many on the market – pacey dribblers who run on the shoulder. We’re not interested, though. The signs are clear.
I rate Benteke but he wouldn’t be the type of forward I’d target; and even if we’re in for a mobile target man, there is better value in the market – Atletico are actively shopping Mandzukic for €25m, a better, more proven player than Benteke, without the injury-history and with a far better engine/off-the-ball defensive work.
Another worry is Coutinho’s role: if we sign a target man, Coutinho will have to SIGNIFICANTLY up his goal tally for next season, and make runs beyond the centre forward. It’s not surprise that Rodgers wanted Mkhitaryan in the summer of 2013 as an upgrade to Coutinho, and he went out and pushed hard for Lallana last summer. In fact, I could see Lallana getting a lot of games as the ’10’ for us next season, as he has a more proven goal tally and was good at knocking it onto Lambert’s head for Southampton. Lallana could play wide, but I think he needs to be far more direct and pacey for Rodgers to play him there in his ideal formation.
If BR stays and Lallana performs as you claim he’s capable of, it will be the best that ever happened to BR.
I am going to go out on a limb and predict that Lallana will never be more than, at best, a Luis Garcia type ‘mercurial’ players for us.
It’s possible he’s a confidence player and, staying healthy, if he hits form he may kick on. He certainly has the technical capabilities to be a consistently very good player for us. I just don’t think he has the personality for it. Physically, also, despite being an eager/industrious presser, he is lightweight. And he’s not as technically gifted/talented as an e.g. Silva, to make up for it.
I’m not sure he’s capable of it, though, GrkStav. I just think it suits Lallana more than it does Coutinho; Coutinho was very frustrated playing with Balotelli last season – yes, I’m referring to it as ‘last season’ already, haha – as Balotelli dropped into the space he wants to occupy, and his game isn’t running beyond the defence or taking potshots. Basically, I think Rodgers, in his ideal formation, wants a Lampard-type, a Sigurdsson-type. Coutinho does not fit this model, and it’s telling that two summers in a row Rodgers has tried to upgrade his position.
Although some will say Rodgers’s ideal formation is 4123, I think 4231 is on the cards for us next season, as I don’t think we have anyone who will play the lone ‘1’ to a reliable level (Lucas will be off, as I’m sure you suspect), and I don’t believe Rodgers will be buying a defensive midfielder/controller.
I actually wouldn’t be surprised if Henderson gets games as a ’10’ next season, as shocking as that is to think.
I think this plan of action, however, will go very badly for Rodgers, with his approach to midfield & defence ultimately costing him his job. Our centre halves aren’t good enough to play 1v1 – actually, I don’t think many defenders on earth would look good in a Rodgers team – and opposition attackers & midfielders will consistently get the run at them; our fullbacks are instructed to bomb on with abandon; and our midfield is just very poor in terms of control, game intelligence, technique, creativity, screening etc.
It’s very much a mess.
Written below and so only just seen this Matthew, but I fully agree. Rodgers preferred tactic is the Swansea one, its the one he tried implementing season 1, part of season 2 and the start of season 3.
I suspect, as you do, that he’ll try again and I don’t hold out much hope that it’s going to work any better this time either
Applying same system over any length of time will see you being found out, ask Gary Monk. If Benteke is an option we are looking at then systems need to be adjusted accordingly. We didn’t replace Suarez which is was stupid but to play any system with unsuitable players is the real crime
The first and most important new signing we need to make is a manager, i can’t see this situation improving under Brendan maybe that is a glass half empty attitude.. From what i can see the team have no identity, Brendan doesn’t know his best 11, doesn’t know his best formation, plays players out of position, bizarre tactics, plays favourites and lees out others with little sense, we no longer have any established playing style.. And the players are all without any heart, desire and we are seriously lacking in leaders who know Liverpool inside out like Carra, screaming and demanding every second of every game! If you have faith in Brendan then fair enough, personally i can see a Hodgson period if he stays.. In my opinion the club should be calling and demanding meetings with the likes of Klopp and Anchelotti, its almost pointless thinking about signings before the situation with the manager is sorted! I think we can be pretty clear about one thing neither Klopp, Carlo or Rafa would have handed 50 million to Southampton.. Neither would they see Benteke and Ings as key to us making top 4.. If things go as they are seem to be, Balotelli stays, Benteke and Ings comes in, no change in the transfer setup or coaches i don’t have a clue were this Liverpool team or club is going! Things may improve if BR stays, things may not, the problem is right now other than QPR, Newcastle and maybe Hull i’d say we are the worst side in the league! That isn’t a great way to start a new season!
Not bothered either way by benteke, just wondering who is briefing the press about our targets, probably another 1 we’ll fail to sign..
It’s as simple as this. Benteke does not suit our style of play so we’re faced with a choice – change our style of play to get the most out of him or face another failed season next year. However, if we’re prepared to change our style of play to suit his strengths, why spend £30 million in the process when we already spent £16 million on a more talented, more experienced player in Balotelli last year? Not only does this not make footballing sense, it makes no financial sense either.
I have a question regarding BR and Borini:
Was he not the one who coached/educated/managed him at Chelsea?
Did he or did he not ‘recruit’ him and gave the green light for his acquisition as a somewhat expensive young striker?
Which part of BR’s “philosophy” does Borini not fit as a striker/forward? He’s the kind of striker/forward who will indefatigably press and harry and he will move and run the channels no matter whether he receives the ball at all or not.
Why would BR be eager (or, if not eager, willing to acquiesce) to move Borini on? If Balotelli and Lambert are not quite working out for ya, why would you not go to ‘your man’, a young man whom you identified as promising young talent, and who will do the ‘dirty work’ for your technically capable and more talent attacking midfielders? Heck, why not play him in a 2-ST setup with Balotelli and organize the team’s attacking play to get the best of both of them together?
I don’t want to draw analogies and use probably far-fetched metaphors between BR as a manager and BR as a man. But they’re there, aren’t they?
I remember reading how bizarre tactics and decisions was the main reason he was sacked by Reading.. Something from the owner like he could very well be a genius but we just couldn’t keep on losing matches.. Some very strange decisions!
I too couldn’t follow why Borini wasn’t used more last season. He isn’t a permanent solution by any stretch of the imagination but as you’ve pointed out he was the closest thing we had to play the lone striker role in the manner which Brendan, on the evidence of 12/13 and 13/14, wanted it played.
Totally agree with Melissa that Benteke wouldn’t be a natural fit. I also doubt that Brendan envisages the use of a mobile front man allied with pacey wingers in some sort of approximation of one of his Swansea teams: if he wanted to play that way why did he not use Balotelli more frequently last year? Why did he regularly try to imply (or maybe even directly state) that Balotelli didn’t fit with his style of play?
During the season I wondered had Brendan fallen out with Borini. Maybe he came to resent him for not doing one when he was expected to.
@GrkStav
Borini, I think, was bought because he was familiar with Rodgers’s system; he was also someone Rodgers trusted. He’s not a ‘9’, though, in the sense of a lone-forward – the ball doesn’t stick to him, his touch is too inconsistent, and he doesn’t have any pace to really stretch a defence, and he can’t really beat a man with his dribbling. However, it’s possible that Rodgers imagined him as an inside forward/inverted winger-type, similar to how Sunderland used him (which, again, is a bit bizarre, considering he’s not quick, and surely that’s what you need that to run beyond defences).
As for why he didn’t use him: It’s a bit weird. If we just stuck with him, we’d probably get 10 goals. Rodgers’s management of players has been awful this season, no doubt about it. I guess he holds a bit of a grudge for Borini not moving when that £14m from Sunderland was on the table. Also, maybe by “bombing him out,” Rodgers felt he could finally convince Borini that he was finished at the Club. Most players would want to play, but I guess Borini didn’t want to live in the north-east and he figured he may never get a move out of there. Isn’t his girlfriend Scouse, too? That might also be a reason. Either way, we gave him a contract and it’s our fault if he’s deemed not good enough, not the player’s.
When I think of Borini pressing and harrying, I am reminded of Denis Healey’s description of being attacked by Geoffrey Howe.
“…like being savaged by a dead sheep”.
He’s suit a Klopp team more than a Rodgers team…..
Great Article thanks. There is so much truth in what you’re saying. You’ve completely changed my outlook on him and it’s so bloody obvious that he’d be a disaster. Feel embarrassed by my other posts where I’ve touted him. Who would you aim to buy though Melissa? Does Jackson Martinez fit Brendan’s style in your view?
He needs a Mobile defensive midfielder too. The priority has to be goals but if you can add a top DM as well and revert back to a back four it should keep the conservative fans happy. A new Makelele has to be out there somewhere right?
A midfield of (the new Makelele), Hendersen, Milner and Coutinho with 2 up top in a diamond would be awesome.
Finally someone that makes sense about what Liverpool need and why some of the names Liverpool have been associated with don’t make sense. BR has made mistake after mistake in buying players that clearly don’t fit the style he wants to play. Start with Mignolet. He is terrible with the ball at his feet and his distribution is just as bad yet he was bought to replace a keeper, Reina, that did both things well. Bizarre. Why did he buy Balotelli who cannot press or play as a lone striker? Why have the former Southampton players struggled when they were good before joining? I think all this points to a manager that makes bizarre decisions. Not until we see a new manager who is more stable in his actions will Liverpool move in the right direction. Again, great article, Melissa.
I don’t think signings are the priority. Urgent, yes, but until the manager is sorted out we won’t get a real star. Like it or not, a host of former players like Sahin, Agger, Carroll for example, might counsel players against joining us. If I was a target I’d ask around. Even current players might have some quiet words. I doubt that Msrkovic, Lambert, Balo – even Sakho and Lucas, might caution against us under Rodgers.
I don’t think Rodgers knows what he wants in a striker, he constantly makes noises about how he wants them to play then targets people like Bony and possibly Benteke who are polar opposites
Belgium played the most Stoke like alehouse football of any team in the world cup, they were truly bloody turgid to watch, and that’s with Lukaku upfront. They always love a good direct ball and throw crosses in the box, that’s why there are the likes of Fellainis and Benteke doing well for them
I can’t believe our scouts or TC or whoever can’t even see that
It’s like buying Lambert and play him lone upfront when he played with another partner for most of his time at Soton top flight. Or buying Balotelli and keep playing him lone upfront when he clearly needs a partner. Or think Lovren’s great without accounting for the two holding mids in front of him at Soton which we don’t have
Our strike force is a strike farce
Where do you get that Benteke “likes to take a crack from distance” ??
He almost never shoots from outside the box, he’s pretty much the opposite from Balotelli in that respect.
So either
1. you’ve barely watched him play
2. you’ve watched him but didn’t bother to do any research
3. you’re just straight up posting bs.
Over 50% of Balotelli’s shots are outside of the box !! Conversely Less than 15% of Benteke’s are from outside the box.
To equate the two strikers basically makes the 1000+ word article useless.
Long shots are one of his core strengths. Just because he doesn’t use it as often as Balotelli, doesn’t discount the fact that it is one of his weapons.
http://www.whoscored.com/Players/68312/Show/Christian-Benteke
We can talk about what Liverpool needs all day long but the fact is all those attribute that Melissa stated are a) very expensive and b) not interested in joining Liverpool because if want them, chances are someone in a better position wants. I mean Christ, even in this situation it looks like we’ll be facing competition from both Chelea and Man United for his signature. Comparing him to Balotelli is also unfair because through out his entire career, even when he’s at his most unplayable Balotelli plays more like a goalscoring #10 than a archetypical number 9. Lambert is very similar but not as athletic. Yes we’ll have to make adjustments to suit the striker (which,by the way,is something Liverpool is not above doing) but if it results in Liverpool winning matches then its worth it. The only concern is his injury record, which in itself should reduce his value, we cant have a situation where both reliable goalscorers are out.
There are characteristics in common, which cannot be ignored. As I’ve stated – he’ll be a great purchase for many clubs, but not one overloaded with technicians to play a certain way – a way that doesn’t suit his strengths.
Excellent piece Melissa.
The rumours about a hard chase for Benteke confirm to me that the formation and style we played in that charge during 13/14 is not the actual style that is wanted by the tacticians at the club. We are reverting back to the slow slow pass pass tactics of season 1 and the Aug>Nov part of this season.
In other words, mid- or low-table.
Good Read Melissa. Completely agree with you on this topic. As far as Benteke being more clinical than our entire front line this season, I still don’t believe he should be a priority signing, since we’ve got Balotelli already wasting that space. There is no doubt that Liverpool require at least two prolific strikers in the summer, and over the years we’ve done well finding strikers no one really wants to take a chance on (Suarez) and getting the best out of them. I’d rather management and that mysterious transfer committee talk less and and just get the damn players signed on the dotted line. I’d rather Rogers (If he still keeps his job) completely avoid commenting on so called players we’re linked with so that we don’t give other teams a sniff of what we’re looking for. We’ve lost our drive in Suarez last season and now we’ve lost the heart of the team in Gerrard. Here’s hoping the summer brings about new leaders in the team willing to step up and be the new heart and drive of the team and here’s a beer or two or three to signings that will surprise the fuck out of us (in a good way I hope) that will get us relishing the season ahead. On a side note, I do quite like that 3rd kit NB have got us playing in.
I don’t mind the silly season, at all. June is my favourite month. It is the time of year where I (foolishly) allow myself to have hope. However, this time there doesn’t even appear to be a prince over the water to dream about.
Sturridge, Benteke, Ings, Origi – Forget 20 goals, I doubt any of those 4 would play 20 league games.
Rodgers should have just quit last summer, when his stock was high and it was clear that there was no real plan to replace Suarez. I bet he thought about it and is now gutted that he didn’t trust his instincts.
Now he, like the club, is damaged goods and it is very hard to see a way back – at least not for several years.
Only Klopp can save us now. Even he would be up against it and it doesn’t sound like any genuine move for him is on the cards.
Even if he was only allowed to bring in two veteran forwards on free transfers, with Borini, Balotelli and Lambert all shown the door – who wouldn’t take that right now?
Well, Klopp probably to be fair.
I think a manager who is not tactically-challenged could do a lot with our current squad. Rodgers essentially stood and watched Suarez et al forging a reputation for him that he had little to do with. ANYBODY could have managed that team. His problem was that he thought it was his genius that did it. It is entirely possible that, had he not drafted the unwanted Sakho and Lucas into the team in November we could have been vying with Hull etc for the relegation spots, because that’s how bad we were playing.
With the benefit of hindsight, it looks like the 2013-2014 may have just decided to ignore Rodgers and just got on with playing. The old cliche states that no player is bigger than the club. Well, if you put Suarez and LFC side-by-side right now, I think you would at least have to acknowledge that it’s close.
Sad times, but at least the news about FIFA encourages a little perspective. I’d take Moyes and relegation next year, if those bastards all get 20 years in the slammer and Qatar loses the World Cup.
1200 men dead already, due to the greed and dishonesty of everybody involved – plus eight years without a proper World Cup for billions of fans worldwide. Time for players and nations to say they no longer want any part of it, so the whole house of cards can come tumbling down.
If LFC buy Ings ( good value and cheap) then we need a worldie and that’s not Benteke
Ings and Benteke …underwhelming
It`s a proper conundrum alright. Whatever happened to keeping the beautiful game simple and the phrase K.I.S.S ; keep it simple stupid. The elite pioneers at our great club Shankly and Paisley always constructed the spine of the team then filled in the gaps around it and in it`s simplest format both men demonsratad the core principles to building success in modern football albeit in 2 totally different formats.
Firstly consider Shankly who in essance was primarily a defensively minded coach and formed his teams around a good goalie with 2 tough no nonsense centre halves and full backs who could defended 1st and foremost however they were very capable in offensive play. Whereas Paisley took the team to a higher attacking plain and the main difference in the back 5 was he believed in central defenders (Hansen/Lawrenso) who were easy on the ball and felt comfortable bringing the ball out from the back which always created panic in the opposition sides who frequently came to Anfield set up not to lose…….. does that sound familiar? And although both men achieved great success and barring the corrupt refereeing performance in Milan in 1965 Shankly arguably may have been the 1st to win the European Cup. Yet ultimately judged by Trophies in the cabinet it was Paisley who was the most successful.
It`s taken a while but my point is Rodgers in his 3 years is guilty of not yet setting out a solid looking defense which is capable of withstanding any sort of pressure whatsoever. I mean I will single out Skrtl who has been doing my head in for years because being brutally honest he is a half witt who never learns from any of his positional mistakes and at 29 he still aint got a clue where to best position himself in oder to successfully defend wing attacks and set pieces, especially in the air, and when compared to the likes of John Terry who he has played against for almost 8 years now, and it pains me to say, he has learned nothing from one the best and most consistant central defenders in Europe over that period. I mean ffs he played with Carra and Sami for longenough and by now should be passing on the knowledge to the Likes of Lovren and Wisdom etc (btw Sakho if he stays fit wll be a club great) Also I have never seen such a gang of 1st class ball watchers as Johnson, Skrtl, Lovren, Moreno and Enrique. All of them have perfected the skill to an art form and yet none of our coaches show any ability on how to erradicate it from their play???
If we had a team that had any defensive capaboilities at all we would have won the League. Our Goal difference is +4. Fucking +4 for the season. When is the last time that happened? If we look at the bed rock of any successfull LFC team right up to Carragher/Hyypia, every central defensive pairing has had one constant ingredient, they knew were to hold position inside the box in order to defend wing attacks and they were by and large comfortable defending aerial assaults from set pieces. Until Brendan grasps the nettle and sets up his teams to defend properly then quite frankly we can babble all we like about we should be signing this or that attacker and about how many more goals we should be knocking in but while we concede 50 a season it won`t make the slightest difference. We even broke the club scoring recored and it still wasn`t good enough to win us anything.
Agger was the ball-playing centre back a la Hansen.
When Rodgers has gone, he will be bracketed with Hodgson as the tied worst managers in LFC history. I will remember him chiefly for his standing on the touch line as leads evaporated, not having a fucking clue what to do about it, making ludicrous substitutions that made no sense and did not address the onfield problem(s).
Fantastic writing, that’s also extremely convincing of the points it’s putting forward. I agree completely, and for some reason the club seem to be doing all they can to not replicate what took us to close to the title. It’s almost as if once Alexis Sanchez turned us down, we gave up, and decided to do something else entirely.
Only at Liverpool unfortunately.
Suarez, like Gerrard, is simply irreplaceable. You can’t find like for like. They are one offs.
What we must do now is find a new way to become attackingly effective. That may mean having to find a new type of striker.
Klopp played with Lewandowski up front for several season. I wonder how he would fare with Benteke up front?
Good read. And I agree that Benteke shouldn’t be on our shopping list.
The priority is a proven, European manager. I have my doubts about Klopp. OK he’s won a couple of league titles in Germany. But that’s no different than winning the league in Scotland.
God help us.
Looking at that table in the article just infuriates me even more re both Rafa’s sacking and our refusal to re-hire him. Rafa’s worst season – by far – in his six years is still the second highest points tally we’ve had in the past 6 seasons! And that was when he had to deal with the triple tumors of Hicks, Gillette and Purslow.
It is the most damning indictment of our current owner’s lack of ambition that they didn’t try to get Rafa back. A manager who challenges his clubs’ owners to match his expectations was overlooked for a yes-man who never rocks the boat, Rodgers. The man about to be appointed manager of REAL FUCKIN MADRID was not deemed worthy of an interview by our Oracle Owners?!!
Either show ambition or fuck off and buy Villa instead!
Sorry, I know this is not what the piece was about. I agree 100% re Benteke – and every other player we are linked with who has absolutely NO HISTORY of delivering against the elite clubs, both in the Premiership and Europe. We will never get to their level by buying from beneath and not above us. Incidentally, why aren’t we at least enquiring about Petr Cech? Or does he have to move to Reading or Barnsley before he gets noticed by the Committee?!!
I’d ask questions not of the owners regards Rafa but those at Liverpool’s head office who may well be advising against for all sorts of spurious reasons.
If they are saying he’s a bad bad man then why would FSG go near??
Well said, Melissa.
Please don’t let us keep repeating the same mistakes.
Our criteria for lead striker surely has to include:
– 15+ league goals/season in a decent league;
– not injury prone;
– able to press, & work like a mofo;
– mobility & pace.
Otherwise, why bother?
Top article. Thought much the same thing when it became clear we were after Benteke. Once more it begs the question of what we actually want. If Rodgers wants us to press aggressively from the front, forcing mistakes from defenders and turning the ball over in dangerous areas, then Benteke just isn’t the man for that. He’s clearly a very impressive player but his skill-set is not conducive to the type of football we want to play – or at least it would appear we want to play.
To me it would be another ‘flavour of the month’ type buy. I’m not claiming Benteke hasn’t been impressive since coming to England, he has, but his stock has never been higher than it is now. I’d far rather the money spent on a sure fit – or at least something more resemblant of one – than on a player who will need to adapt his game to fit in.
As much as Melissa eloborates on the technical misgivings of Benteke possibly not being a good enough fit for the manager`s tactics, the facts remain that in Rodger`s 3 seasons and especially with the defending debacle of finishing with a goal difference of only +4 for this season then surely his focal point should equally be hoaned on stabilising the defensive line up given that even with the miserly amount of goals scored, if we had conceded 6 or so less at the other end then we more than likely would have achieved CL qualification.
Whatever happened to keeping the beautifull game simple and uncomplicated Shankly & Paisley both defended from the frontline however they built the team to defend stoicly from the back with a strong central defensive pairing and full backs whose primary role was to defend and prevent as few crosses as possible from coming in from the flanks but they could really attack well when required. And whilst we all love to see free flowing footy with plenty of goals while the supply line remains severed, if Rodgers had the back room personnel who could coach defensive strategy then life for us all at LFC could be so much easier not to mention happier but then again these message boards wouldn`t be half as busy eh
It would require a rebalancing of the entire team, in order to play with 2 sitting DMs, a la Chelsea. But (a) we don’t have even 1 DM of the Matic / Cesc calibre; (b) it’s doubtful we could attract 2, and Tomkins’ Law demonstrates we’d need to buy 4 in order to have 2 that work out (it’s just reality, happens to every club); (c) once you have the midfield screen sorted, you’d need to upgrade Skrtl (not of top 4 standard) as well as Lovren (who MIGHT just work with proper screening) and a cover for Sakho (injury prone); (d) our wingbacks are not good enough either (none of ours would even make the bench at the top 4), so you’d want to upgrade those, and of course; (e) without Sturridge, we lack pace / guile upfront to counter effectively.
This assumes you want to do it properly. And why would you bother trying to shore up the defence if you’re not going to do it properly?
I’d suggest we are better off trying to mask our obvious defensive inadequacies by being MUCH more aggressive in our pressing and our attacking. Better to be a poor man’s Barcelona than a poor man’s Chelsea. Surely?
excellent piece!
Look at the facts. Our 2014/15 season was rooted until November. We had a manager who bloody-mindedly ignored the bleeding obvious and, mule-like, refused to admit that his preferred players were performing badly until injury FORCED him to play Sakho and Lucas. Result? Vastly improved results and a revival of the club’s only goalkeeper. Lucas and Sakho out, and our season’s fucked. We should have sacked Rodgers in November and asked the supporters club to nominate a panel of selectors.
And now we read that we are making offers for players who are little better than journeymen, and having them rejected. That’s bad enough, but what is worse is the implication that FSG is still allowing Brendan and the Ineptitudes to identity and try to buy cheapies.
If FSG are still prepared to hand money to charlatans, I know of a Nigerian who will deposit enormous amounts of money into your bank account for a deposit of £20,000. I’m prepared to act as agent…
I know this comment is late and you wrote this ages ago but I just wanted to say this is an excellent piece; the definitive guide to why Benteke doesn’t work for this team. After confirmation today that we won’t be pursuing Bacca anymore and Benteke remains our number one target the disappointment led to revisit this. I don’t agree with everything you write but this article really is the proverbial dog’s bollocks.