TWO games in, two draws, one goal, but signs of the team taking a nice shape and moving, generally, in a nice ‘Klopp-esque’ direction.
Most of all though, it is just nice to be bloody excited about Liverpool and the football again. It has been exciting to think about just what Jürgen Klopp makes of this squad, to know that it will finally be four at the back with Mamadou Sahko in the team, to see what Klopp does with Emre Can, where he might use James Milner and how he might mould the young lads like Jordon Ibe and Jordan Rossiter.
Having seen the first two games under the new manager however, the player I have possibly been most excited by is one I never could have guessed; Adam Lallana.
It is fair to say that Lallana’s time in red thus far had been, to be kind, frustrating. Upon signing, he injured his knee in training before ever kicking a ball for Liverpool and missed the first three games of the season. Injury would go on to cost him 14 more games throughout the season.
That stat surprised me when I read it. Because it feels like he played a lot last year (41 times in all). He always seemed to be there, getting the ball in good areas and…not doing very much with it. The injury at the start of last season meant he came into the side with a sense of needing to feel his way in, of not having found his feet.
His lack of familiarity with his feet will be well-known to those of us who saw him dally in possession as an attack slowly dried up around him or all too often watched him lift a cross high above the heads of those who had made runs into the box. It seemed to happen a lot last year that when there was a key pass to be made, Lallana was the one who ended up not making it.
At times the England man showed that lovely, easy close control he displayed at Southampton and you were just willing him to use it to squirm past three defenders on the edge of the box and curl one past the keeper and into the net. There’s a player in there (he had been nominated for Player of the Year the season before he joined Liverpool) and you were just begging him to let it out. But it just would not come.
Lallana was always considered a Brendan Rodgers favourite (41 games last season. 41!!) and when Brendan was replaced by Klopp, many felt that it was a very bad thing indeed for the midfielder. “He won’t fit in with the way Klopp wants to play,” came the wisdom from many. “He will be fearing for his future at the club.”
While the second part of that might well be true, and more on that in a moment, if we took time to think about Lallana and how he plays, it becomes more and more apparent that maybe he will turn out to be more of a favourite for Klopp than he was under the previous manager.
As I have said, Lallana came to Liverpool off the back of a season for Southampton that saw him nominated for PFA Player of the Year as well as making its Team of the Year.
He had been a very important part of Mauricio Pochettino’s impressive side who finished eighth in 2013-14. The clearest aspect of the approach of that Southampton side was its willingness to adopt a high press on its opponents. The high energy, high tempo game-plan was one not used often with this level of finesse and it worked extremely well. One of the major successes of this system was the team’s captain: Lallana.
Having already proved that he could work extremely effectively in a pressing system, Lallana further underlined his suitability to a high-tempo game-plan through his distance covered last season. He finished second, behind only James Milner, in average distance covered in 90 minutes in the Premier League last year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh6dS7X67-U
So, let’s go through that again. Lallana had already been part of a successful pressing system and even in a season where his play on the ball did little to excite us, he ran more on average than anyone in the league bar his new vice-captain. You know what, he doesn’t sound like the type of player Klopp would fancy at all…
Much of the doubt over Lallana’s future under Klopp, while perhaps lazily put down to his apparent lack of work-rate, did appear to have legitimacy. It was not that he did not run enough or work hard enough last year. It was the actual football stuff. The bits where he has the ball at his feet and you look for him to jink past a man or slip a ball into the forward. He looked unsure last season, like he was trying to impress and not make a fool of himself all at once.
Under Rodgers, he was safe. Signed for around £25million last summer, he was not going to be moved on too quickly with the Northern Irishman at the helm. With the arrival of the new man, however, all bets were off. Slates were wiped clean, for better or for worse. Lallana could not sit back anymore, it was time to stand and deliver. The old manager might not have sold you off lad, but this Klopp just might if he does not like what he sees.
At 27, Lallana probably knows that this is his big shot. Barcelona or Bayern Munich won’t be coming calling for him. His next move, should there be one, is likely to be down the footballing food-chain. His play last season suggested that he had achieved his goal in making it to Liverpool. The way he has started under Klopp suggests he wants to stay.
On Sunday, Lallana faces his old club Southampton. He takes with him perhaps his best run of form since he came to Liverpool. He impressed in individual games last year but I do not know if I can recall him being excellent twice in a row. His performances against Spurs and Rubin Kazan were a partial fulfilment of his talents. There is more he can do.
Lallana is not some kid the transfer committee have signed in the hope potential turns into something tangible. This is an England international, a Player of the Year nominee. The fourth most expensive player Liverpool have ever signed in the history of the club (only Firmino, Christian Benteke and Andy Carroll were more expensive).
He has shown something of that in these last two games. As Klopp said post-Spurs: “I am not sure how many games you saw like this from Adam Lallana? What do you think? I know him from Southampton and he can do 20-30 per cent more.”
Lallana’s work-rate, already high, has been pushed up a notch. He is now also working smarter and working as part of a whole pressing unit. His touch is more confident, his one-touch passes coming off with more regularity. He is finding his way past defenders, nimbly twisting and turning with the ball attached to his foot.
His head is up far more often now when he is on the ball. It is only two games and there is plenty of time for Lallana to go back into the shell he has lived in for much of his Liverpool career. But the signs are good. And he likes a bit of needle, as he showed last night against Rubin Kazan. And who can’t get behind that?
When Lallana was called ashore by the manager after 80 minutes against Spurs, Klopp held his arms open to offer an embrace for the work his midfielder had gotten through. Lallana, so tired from his ceaseless running and ever increasing willingness to get on the ball, fell forward into the awkward embrace, needing his manager to hold him up.
If he does nothing else in his Liverpool career but run himself into the ground like that, he will be very much appreciated.
Klopp reckons that there is more to come. Now that is the Adam Lallana I want to see. If he can go about delivering that, to pinch a phrase the manager said at his first press conference, he will go a long way towards turning the doubters into believers.
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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
Lallana got a bum rap last year, seems to me. The popular opinion is that he had a lousy year and Coutinho had a good one, despite the team’s performance. And while I’m the Little Magician’s biggest fan, I think it’s unfair to Adam L. that he gets as many goals as Coutinho and just two fewer assists in 11 fewer games played (Coutinho = 2799 minutes played, Lallana = 1792, or 1000 fewer minutes) and he’s thought to be crap and Coutinho is rightly hailed as a genius. Granted, Coutinho’s contributions probably won us more big games, but goals is goals. Coutinho should get more and tally more assists than he does, with the talent he demonstrates game in and game out. But Lallana shouldn’t somehow be held to a higher standard. Hopefully he’ll blossom under Klopp and be given a fair shake.
Run. Run. Run. Press. Press. Press. Kilometres. Kilometres. Kilometres.
Has a team ever won the Premier League this way? Is the English game the same as the German? I would argue a Championship side could finish 3rd in the Bundesliga as the pace/quality of bottom half is probably the same. Can a team play like Bayern throughout a whole Premier League campaign, season after season?
Is “running himself into the ground” all that’s missing from Lallana’s game? I think he could he become a regular in any top 4 English team by simply getting greater awareness of teammates and learning when to release the ball sooner as not to dwell and give away possession. Possession. That’s the foundation. That’s how you win this league. Learn how to keep the ball first and what to do when you’ve got it as a team. This is what Adam needs to learn. Pressing comes later.
I don’t think you can win this league by running more k’s than opposition.
THATS NOT WHY WE FINISHED 2nd 13/14. We would have finished last year too if we still had the obvious reason.
“Has a team ever won the Premier League this way?”
Alex Ferguson used to tell his players you only earn the right to show you’re better than opponents by first matching their workrate, then the class will show. Like it or not, he knew one or two or thirteen things about winning the Premier League.
“Is the English game the same as the German?”
It’s a little bit quicker but not by much. The differences are 4 extra league games and no winter break.
“I would argue a Championship side could finish 3rd in the Bundesliga as the pace/quality of bottom half is probably the same.”
I would argue this is as ignorant and tedious a statement I’ve read in months. To suggest over a season Bolton would finish above Schalke or Wolfsburg is to suggest you simply don’t know much about football.
“I don’t think you can win this league by running more k’s than opposition”
Who is suggesting you can? Who is suggesting we just sign a load of marathon runners to run constantly and that will allow us to win the league?
If you have the most money you have the better players. If you have the better players you dominate the ball. If you dominate the ball you’ll automatically do less running.
Clubs like Liverpool and Dortmund never have the best players collectively. So what Klopp says is working harder than others is the starting point. That’s with the ball, to provide more options, and off the ball, to put opponents under pressure. But it’s not just about working harder – it’s about working smarter. That’s what gegenpressing is.
Personally I doubt we can gegenpress to the same extent Dortmund did given extra games and no winter break. But I’m confident Jurgen will tweak it after a while by taking away certain ques and instances of play that would initiate the press. I think in time we’ll also go to a slightly more possession based game than his Dortmund team had as well. This will be a year or two down the road though. Right now its about getting over his ideas and having everyone know what they’re doing.
just to add a bit to Michael’s comment~~
The new boss has to start from somewhere to reshape the team (or turn around the performance). he decided to start from stabilizing the defensive line. To make us hardest team to beat. The team that others dread to play against. Never an easy walk over softies without balls….(This was how I felt when we lost 3~1 against MU without any fight;)
only after that, creative and goal scoring side will come, definitely. he is building team confidence level from the back….and will move into attacking side soon…timed against heavyweight Benteke and Stirridge coming back into the team.
yes the team will run, always, as a synchronized unit, but pretty soon we will see plenty of team goals as well, for sure.
Keep the faith! (In Kloop We Trust)
“Lallana is not some kid the transfer committee have signed in the hope potential turns into something tangible. This is an England international, a Player of the Year nominee. The fourth most expensive player Liverpool have ever signed in the history of the club (only Firmino, Christian Benteke and Andy Carroll were more expensive).”
I winced when I read that and couldn’t resist looking up the return on those 4 investments.
13 goals in 82 Premier League games. They are all attacking players and it works out somewhere between 9-10 million quid per goal.
The £300,000 we paid for Ian Rush was also a record fee, although only for a teenager.
In terms of value, however, the 229 league goals he netted for us should be put into context. He was apparently an absolute gannet in the club canteen – clearing plates as only a lad from an overcrowded council house can.
Me too (the wincing)
Everyone know Ian Rush was amazing. But how good he was, and much it cost to recruit him, is irrelevant to now isn’t it? It’s a totally different game in every aspect – where LFC are as a club, how clubs recruit, the money involved… for starters.
I agree it is pretty meaningless to compare the amounts of money paid. After all, we got Fowler, Owen, Mcmanaman and Gerrard for nothing.
The fact they are the players we have spent the most on though, is a concern. They have all been bought by the transfer committee.
Three of the players are still with us, so we must remain hopeful that they show us a great deal more than we have already seen.
I can’t help feeling that even if Jason Mcateer was put in charge of the first round draft picks for the Boston Red Sox, those players might perform better over their first 82 games though.
To be fair, it might take him a while to grasp the concept. He would just hear ’round’ and ‘draft’ and come to the conclusion that he was being asked to get the ale in.
Entire comment sadly discredited by this typically ill-informed view of ‘Jonny Foreigner’ and his rubbish football
“I would argue a Championship side could finish 3rd in the Bundesliga as the pace/quality of bottom half is probably the same”
I didn’t mention Klopp’s nationality or label his football ‘rubbish’.
I hope he succeeds as much as anyone. I think he’s a great character – don’t think he cares as much about club or tradition as we like to think mind you.
Trouble with Internet threads is nothing can be questioned without people only having capacity to see black/white.
I don’t think Lallana is a “run into the ground” type player. Main man at Southampton, bought for too much money; a lot is expected. Same old. He’s a class player who would do well in a team that can play the ball around, interchange in possession and have calculated a way to win. Hopefully that’s us this time next year. It’s unfair on a lad who can barely run for 70 to say “you’re a good player, but forget that, we just run like fuck now and I think you can do that.”
I think there are foundations and basics to a team and how it plays before “pressing” becomes the main emphasis. I think Klopp is aware of this. Some fans, not so much.
I was going to put a detailed response but Michael has done it for me. Mate, your ridiculous generalisation about the quality of the German league discredited the rest of your comments – you can’t seriously think that teams playing in the Championship are better than teams like Wolfsburg, Schalke and others? And if you think *all* Klopp is saying is that by running more you’ll win the league, you’re not paying attention.
Lallana is no good enough. His end product is poor. There was nothing different in the last game to when Rodgers was in charge which proves it wasn’t the manager. The team lacks class. Coutino Is highly over rated and going forward the team hasn’t got a clue. klopp will need to ship a lot of the attacking players out. About 5 and bring 3 good/ class players if he wants to improve performances and results. It’s quality not quantity that is key here and we’ve failed in quality section since suarez left. This new chapter is going to get worse before it gets better. I hope I’m wrong but I can’t see it with these players.
Coutinho is out of form. When in form he is good enough to play for any team in Europe. He is also still a young player. Klopp and the club’s challenge now is to get him playing consistently at his best. If you’re not willing to give any of them time to do that, we may as well all give up and go home now. Because we aren’t going to be signing Lionel Messi or any other ‘sure things’ anything soon
As for the team having no clue going forward, as a group they are clearly lacking confidence. Personally I would say there is great attacking potential with Coutinho, Ibe, Benteke, Sturridge, Henderson, Lallana, Firmino. There is energy, creativity and goals there. Are you prepared to make the call after 180 minutes of a new manager that they’re no hopers and he won’t get anything from them, after he did exactly that at both Mainz and Dortmund?
Let’s be a bit positive, get behind them and see where we are in a few months
There’s lacking confidence and lacking ability. We lack ability. When was the last time coutino was in form? Lallana hasn’t been in form yet. Benteke is a good player but I think he’ll struggle with the system klopp wants to play and sturridge. Well it’s hard enough getting him on the pitch. I am positive every time I watch them but some of these players have been playing bad for nearly a season and a half. We also don’t need to sign Messi. The manager will know good players that English fans, clubs don’t know about as did rafa. Be interesting in January
Nick, fully agreed with your comments here, especially about our little magician.
he is out of form at the moment. (I will repeat the old boring wisdom that class is permanent but form is temporary). And he is still a kid. he will perform at highest and most consistent level after 2 more seasons, and hopefully he would still be with us.
and he needs a quality striker(s) ahead of him and other midfielders run past him in a scoring position for him to make that final.pass.
Either he was told.by BR to shoot at first sight or he had no one else to pass to do he shoot…
So, I take it there is no truth to the rumour that Sturridge is not actually injured, but told Klopp that he was a thoroughbred not a cart horse, and wasn’t interested in putting his finely tuned body through this gegenpressing shit, with the result that Klopp told him that he could have an injured knee for as long as it took him to get with the programme?
Simple really he has the industry….he needs to add goals!!
You need quality with endeavour Lallana doesn’t lack endeavour l
My only comment about Lallana:
Thank you for wearing the same color boots against Ruben. That’s the least I expect from every Reds :)