Let’s Talk: Liverpool’s Issues

A quick note before I commence to write (and you, the readers, commence to read) the article. All views are my own, and whether the club is performing up to expectations or whether they’re underperformance really differs from fan to fan. Do not take any statements to heart, but try to read and approach each part of the article with an open mind. Thank you, and enjoy.

If anything, Liverpool FC has been going through a stage of major transition for the past season or two, not only financially, managerially and in terms of personnel, but the appointment of Brendan Rodgers in the summer also signalled a change in the club’s play style.

Brendan Rodgers is “known” for his passing style during his time at Swansea, where his club a season ago, did very decently considering they were newly-promoted. He labelled his style of play as “tiki-taka”-like, as seen by some of the most successful teams in the world, ie. FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team.

The first half of the season consisted of games marred with defeats to Arsenal, West Brom, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Arsenal. The only highlight games were a 5-2 win against Norwich, coming from behind to win 3-2 against West Ham and measly draws against the Blues of Chelsea and Everton.

Surely this is no coincidence, considering 5 wins and 5 losses isn’t too normal, while 7 draws are just way too many points dropped. We have the back four healthy for most parts of the season, Steven Gerrard and recently Lucas is back healthy, Luis Suarez is on the form of his life, while young players like Jonjo Shelvey, Jordan Henderson, Suso, Raheem Sterling and Andre Wisdom are all involved in games and playing alright.

So this begs the question – What’s going wrong? In my opinion, the approach to games are slightly.. “off”, for a lack of a better term.

Top Priority: Retaining Possession?
Now Rodgers has a saying (paraphrased, of course) that if you keep the ball away from the opposition as much as possible, they will have less chances of scoring. In a nutshell, higher possession should equal to less goals conceded.

Now on paper that makes a lot of sense, but the reality of it is far, far off.

Let’s take the Aston Villa game for example. We were dominating possession for most of the game, but still lost 3-1. And why? The answer’s simple: They made full use of their chances.

As far as I know, I don’t remember Villa having a proper chance at goal, and when they did, Benteke made full use of it. Their next “real” goal-scoring chance fell to Andres Weimann, and he doubled the lead. Meanwhile, the Liverpool side continued to squander chance after chance after chance.

I do agree that possession is a big factor that can influence who wins a game and who loses, but something more important than actually retaining possession itself, is to make those chances count – something that Liverpool has been struggling with since the time Steven Gerrard went out injured and Fernando Torres had a dip in form. Oh, and that was years ago.

By narrowing down the focus of the team to retain possession, this leads to the next subject for discussion.

Why doesn’t anyone SHOOT?
That’s the main difference between the passing game that Liverpool plays and the one that Barcelona plays. Retaining possession doesn’t equal to goals. Shooting equal to higher chances of goals. With the lot of Lionel Messi, David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Xavi to name a few, they know when to hold the ball, when to pass it on, and when to shoot..

..but that’s not the case with the Liverpool squad. From my personal observation, most players seem to have that intention to dribble past the whole opposing defence before even willing to take a shot. If you see many chances by the club, many shots are taken after the player is closed down, hence the shot gets blocked more often than not.

It isn’t a question of whether we have the right personnel to take a shot, but rather would they take the shot with a risk of losing possession? We have the almighty Steven Gerrard that seems ever so hesitant to shoot, same goes for Jonjo Shelvey who has a powerful right foot himself. Let’s not forget Luis Suarez and Glen Johnson, as well as the left-footers in Daniel Agger, Jose Enrique and Stewart Downing, just to name a few.

It becomes quite obvious that we definitely have the players that can take a shot from reasonable distances. However, it is just whether they are willing to compromise the focal point of the team (which is to retain possession) by taking a shot.

Vulnerability to Counter-Attacks
By playing the possession game as stated above, it is simple that by slowly building the momentum forward, the rest of the players would also slowly move up the pitch. This is also why Jose Enrique, Glen Johnson, and even Stewart Downing gain benefits by playing at full-back spots, as they are generally allowed to play a more offensive role when the team is on the offence.

However, that leaves the back very vulnerable to counter-attacks. In a passing-oriented style of play that Brendan Rodgers employs game in, game out, one has to take into consideration the vulnerability of the team when it comes to counters. Both Joe Allen and Lucas Leiva aren’t the fastest of players, while the full-backs who double-up as wing-backs can tend to be stuck up front, leaving just 2 or 3 players back to take on opposing players.

Liverpool doesn’t have good defence when it comes to defending in transitions. That’s a fact, and a sad one at that. We are dearly missing Javier Mascherano, a former defensive midfielder of the club, who sits right in the middle of the field when attacking, but is always able to run and chase down opposing players on the break.

By now, I’m sure you want some proof. Again, let’s revert back to that Aston Villa game. When Joe Cole gave away the ball in our own half, Christian Benteke made full use of it and ran towards goal. During that, Martin Skrtel postured himself in a way that opens up the middle of the box for Benteke to run into, while Joe Allen was just clearly outmuscled by the young Belgian striker, allowing him to take a shot on goal and ultimately, scoring it.

Now after a long read that highlights the main issues (in my opinion) with the club and the “struggles” on the field, what are my ideal ways to improve on them?

Tweak the philosophy.. slightly.
I’ll start of with an example of what’s going on at Swansea right now. Michael Laudrup got appointed as their manager, and while only 2 key players of Rodgers’ era has left the club (Joe Allen and Gylfi Sigurdsson), Laudrup decided to maintain part of Rodgers’ play style and philosophy while tweaking it with his own preferred style.

The Swansea we see now is a near-perfect blend of a passing style of play as seen under Rodgers’ era, as well as smart counter-attacks and having a blend of ‘pass masters’ and attacking masterminds. The purchase of Michu and Pablo Hernandez along with the loan of Jonathan De Guzman brings attacking personnel to fit players like Wayne Routledge, Leon Britton, Danny Graham and Nathan Dyer that excelled in Brendan’s philosophy.

Maybe that’s what we need at Liverpool as well. We may just need that slight tweak in tactics, formation and player roles in order to do better. We have the likes of Lucas, Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson who are all capable of retaining possession. At the same time, we have Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard, Jonjo Shelvey, Glen Johnson and Raheem Sterling (to name a few) that contributes to attacks.

Maybe Brendan Rodgers needs to let go of the strictness and reduce the focus of the team to retain possession, and implement a more attacking mindset to the team in order to improve. Maybe he should get the team to let go of possession, but at the same time work on defending effectively and consistently, while catching oppositions on the break.

I’m not a coach myself, so I wouldn’t know as to what extent changes should be made, but ideally, I believe a blend is needed. The passing game is one that is beautiful to watch, as seen with the title-winning Arsenal side, the magicians of the Spanish national team that won 3 major tournaments in a row as well as the Barcelona side under Pep Guardiola, but focusing on it solely and exclusively can hinder performances of the team.

Buy wisely, transfer smartly.
Nothing improves teams faster than transfers, no doubt. If one had the money, changing a division four side to a Barcelona or a Real Madrid side using money to purchase players of said clubs would instantly improve the team.. but that’s just metaphorically speaking, of course.

While the squad is rather solid, we are missing quite a bit of experienced players to fill up the numbers and at the same time, we have a lot of dead wood that would be more useful if converted to cash.

With Jose Enrique finding his most useful place in the team at the left wing instead of being a left full-back, it becomes clear that we need to get a left-back for that area, while a more experienced centre-half than Coates would prove useful. A new goalkeeper that is ready and is willing to develop would be very much welcomed. With the team lacking goals and clear-cut chances up front, a striker and a creative forward/midfielder would be essential.

Now that seems all fine and dandy on paper, because who wouldn’t want to see an inflow of players to the club? Realistically though, money is the main problem. Therefore, what Liverpool, FSG, Brendan Rodgers and the scouts need to do is get players who have high ‘value for money’.

What that means is that no more overpaying for players, no more paying extra for players regardless of their credentials and reputation. With limited funds brings smart buys. We need players that can perform regardless of their price tags.

For example, anyone remember Roque Santa Cruz? Yes, that Paraguayan player that played for Blackburn previously? Low transfer fee, high returns. Anyone else remember a certain Robert Green that now plays second-fiddle to Julio Cesar at QPR? He was magnificent at West Ham, although the club paid little for him. No? You don’t remember any of the two? Alright then. Michu – that’s all I need to say.

That’s what we need. Buy players early, but quietly. Buy players of quality, not of prices and world recognition. Buy smartly, spend moderately, bring in quality, improve significantly.

Patience, but the clock is ticking.
I’ve said in a previous article that patience is what the club, the owners, the manager, the players and especially what the fans need. We have barely reached halfway through a season and many are already calling for Rodgers’ head. Is that indeed what we need? Is sacking a manager the right way to approach it? Yes, but not when it’s only been almost half a year.

If we are to truly achieve consistency on matters off and on the pitch, we need to give the personnel of the team a reasonable amount of time before letting them go. This applies to both players and managers.

For example, before the season truly started, many were hoping for the departure or Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing, just to name a few. However, given a bit of time, many of them has proven they may just step their game up.

Jordan Henderson has established to become one of the few vital players of recent weeks, very often coming on as a substitute and strengthening the team, even stabilising the team and making them a better attacking unit going forward. Stewart Downing has also improved immensely from his miserable first season under Kenny Dalglish. His game against Aston Villa highlighted what he can or may bring to the club in the near future after being arguably one of the standout performers in said game.

Same goes with Brendan Rodgers. I personally am starting to think that if performances don’t improve, he won’t have a long-lived managerial career at Liverpool. However, I won’t be so quick to judge him. In fact, I give him until at least the end of the season before fully evaluating what he has done throughout the season.

While patience is very much needed, we also have to be reasonable with the amount of time to be given. If the performance of the team or if performances of players don’t improve, then we need to evaluate and reconsider if certain personnel are worth keeping or not. For example, if the team fails to perform well on a consistent basis, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brendan gets the axe.

All in all, we would all need to be patient because we can’t expect great results week in, week out, but at the same time, we can’t sit around and watch the team crumble each and every game while waiting blindly for improvement.

As always, I kindly ask for feedback, input, suggestions and your own personal thoughts on the matter. My target with these articles is definitely not to close out certain matters, but instead to spark debate an encourage interaction among fans.

Thank you very much for reading this article. It’s one that I’m particularly proud of, as a lot of time was put into it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks once again. Have hope in your heart everyone, and You’ll Never Walk Alone.

My Ideal Transfers for Liverpool FC

As I’m writing this, it is the 12th of December, and the much awaited, much needed January transfer market for Liverpool is just within reach.

After the sales of the likes of Charlie Adam to Stoke, Nathan Eccleston to Blackpool, as well as loan deals for Andy Carroll to the recently-beaten West Ham and Jay Spearing to newly-relegated Bolton, the Liverpool squad is immensely thin. These are just a few players whom have left, of course.

While there are a handful of players who left the club, a few were brought in as well. Fabio Borini and Joe Allen, two players that Brendan Rodgers is familiar with, have been brought in for a reported combined fee of £25 million. A while later, a £3million transfer of Oussama Assaidi happened underneath everyone’s noses, being a transfer that came out of absolutely nowhere. Nuri Sahin was also brought in on loan.

Not even halfway through the interval between the windows, Fabio Borini suffered a foot injury during his time with his national squad while Lucas Leiva suffered an injury of his own. Due to this, the squad is immensely thin, forcing the use of youngsters within the youth squad.

While Lucas is back, the absence of Borini has seen Downing, Suso and even Enrique played more in offensive positions. Recently, when Luis Suarez was serving a one-game suspension against West Ham, even Jonjo Shelvey was deployed further up the pitch, signalling just how limited our options are up front.

This begs the question – what type of players should Liverpool target in this coming January transfer window? Here are my ideal options.

1. A Versatile Forward
By “versatile forward”, I mean someone that can play anywhere across the front three. Thus far, we’ve been using a few make-shift wingers in Suso or Enrique, although both have excelled in that role. However, Suso is more of a super-sub-like of player, often playing better when brought on, while Enrique can do alright as a wingback for Liverpool.

Stewart Downing has been at most, decent in forward roles, occasionally putting in a good cross, although his performances are still way far from those of his days at Middlesbrough or Aston Villa. His recent performance against West Ham was very mediocre at right wing, although he did play shockingly well at left-back after Enrique’s injury forced Brendan Rodgers to make a change in tactics.

On the other hand, two regulars – Suarez and Sterling, have both managed to retain their forward spots in the first team, although Sterling has been struggling when playing through the middle in a few games. Fabio Borini is absent through injury, and the lack of playtime for Oussama Assaidi is widely questioned and wondered by fans.

This obviously calls for a versatile forward to be brought in, someone comfortable of running the flanks as well as take responsibilities as a centre forward if ever called upon. We had that in Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez and Craig Bellamy last season, but unfortunately, all three veterans to the game have left the club.

My Choice? Theo Walcott.
I remember watching Theo for the first time in an England game, when my dad said that he’s been watching Walcott for a rather long time and would be a good centre-forward. He’s been incredible at counter-attacks with his blistering pace, and can also put in a decent cross every now and then. His ability to finish the ball and put it where it belongs is one of the few players that Liverpool needs.

Recent contractual breakdowns signals an opportunity for Liverpool to pick him up and offer him his centre-forward spot he so desperately craves. A reported valuation of £12million seems reasonable.

2. A Target-Man
“But we have Andy Carroll…”

Andy Carroll is just tall and big, but that’s not everything when it comes to a target man, at least not in my books.

A target man has to be strong, balanced and able to hold the ball confidently up front. He has to be able to make short-distance dribbles and runs (off and on the ball), as well as able to take one-touch shots. Finally, he also has to be good with his head, heading the ball with purpose.

Thus far, I’ve not seen Andy being able to do that. He is rather clumsy at times, almost always falling and tumbling throughout a game. His headers are sub-par. While having scored some goals, his heading still hasn’t convinced me. Often times when long balls are played to him, he does win the aerial battle, but does not direct the ball where he wants it to be. Again, stats are mere numbers, so I don’t judge Andy Carroll’s heading abilities by the number of aerial duels he’s won, but rather where the ball ends up at and whether it was intentional or not. He’s a good player to some extent, but a Liverpool-worthy player? Maybe not.

After draws with Stoke, Everton and just barely beating West Ham, it’s clear that we need a physical presence upfront to hold off teams with stronger defenders.

My Choice? Anyone.
No, seriously, I’ve no names to throw on here because most above-average target men aren’t realistic targets (Falcao, Llorente, etc.). There are calls for Edin Dzeko, but that is highly unlikely as well considering his wages.

It’s in situations like these when the scouts of the club are key. They have to find talented, high-potential players that are able to play this style of a striker that can be transferred at an affordable price.

For example, Aston Villa bought Christian Benteke – a strong, young, talented and most importantly, affordable player. Liverpool should be looking to do the same.

3. A Creative Midfielder
One thing about a passing team is just how painfully direct the game can be at times. We have Steven Gerrard playing the defence-splitting pass every now and then, Suso has his clever moves on the ball while Suarez and his nutmegs speaks for themselves… But that’s pretty much it.

Direct and straightforward passes can become way too predictable and it makes it very easy for opposition to defend a team like Liverpool. In the past, we had Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera, whom are both more than capable to bring creativity to the team whenever needed, and we seem to be lacking that at the moment, considering Joe Cole hasn’t been replicating his trickery from his days at Chelsea.

My Choice? Christien Eriksen.
Hey, if we can spend £35 million on Andy Carroll and £15 million on Joe Allen, why can’t we spend on Eriksen? Brilliant talent at just 20 years of age. Attacking minded, can dribble, score, make the pass. Already a Danish international and a key player at Ajax. Realistic? Not too bad actually. Not high in chance, but still realistic to a certain extent.

4. A Versatile Defender
If there’s one thing that looks very good on paper, but not in the score lines of our games, it’s the defence. A back four consisting of Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and Jose Enrique can be deemed to be a solid one. But the overall performances can be inconsistent at times.

While we have Sebastien Coates, Andre Wisdom, Martin Kelly and Jack Robinson waiting to be the next defensive line for Liverpool, I personally think it would hurt to add just a bit more experience into the team.

With Carragher ageing and slowly being phased out of the team, a replacement is much welcomed. Adding on to that, Jose Enrique seems to be like one of those left-backs that are actually much better in a more attacking role, such as Fabio Coentrao and Marcelo of Real Madrid or Michel Bastos of Lyon.

My Choice? Toby Alderweireld.
Belgian defender who is still young, playing for Ajax, which speaks for itself. We’ve seen how good Tottenham’s Belgian signing from Ajax is, maybe Liverpool should give it a go. Able to play at left-back as well, he would provide necessary cover for both centre-back and left-back spots. He’s playing rather well and his peak might just be approaching.

The Spurs are also lurking around for him, and he would be an affordable buy for Liverpool.

5. A “Young” Goalkeeper
As many athletic saves as Reina has done throughout his Liverpool career, we can all agree that he’s not getting any younger. Prior to his injury this season, he has been mediocre at best. His highlights were the (very lucky) penalty save against West Brom and his quick reaction save against a point blank header in a Europa League tie with Udinese at Anfield.

On the downside, he has let in and made quite a number of mistakes as well, including a very poorly attempted save against Cazorla’s efforts that nabbed him a goal for Arsenal, a half-hearted attempt against a Van Persie penalty, and conceding easy goals against Norwich.

All in all, it’s been an up-and-down season for Reina, although he has been quite good after recovering from his injury. Nevertheless, he’s approaching the 30-mark, while our second and third choice keepers (Brad Jones, Doni) are veterans to the game. The closest player to the first team is Peter Gulacsi, who isn’t really convincing thus far, and that is why I think we should start looking for continuity NOW.

My Choice? Again, anyone!
When it comes to getting goalkeepers, everyone is a possible target. No one would expect Hugo Lloris to leave his home-nation as well as one of the top clubs in the world, but he did.

As long as a particular goalkeeper is affordable, young (aged 24/25 and below, in my books) and willing to learn from the veteran keepers of the club, he could possibly be a target.

Yet again, these are MY personal opinions on who Liverpool should target for in the January transfer window. It is NOT the absolute best solution for Liverpool, and my ideal targets aren’t limited to the players listed above, because I wouldn’t be analysing every single possible target for Liverpool. There are many other names (like Daniel Sturridge, Thomas Ince, and so on so forth), but I can’t possibly be listing every single one of them.

We all know that the media and rumours spreading around can go haywire at times like these, and everyone has their own views on who can be brought in to improve the club. Therefore, this article isn’t meant to close out debates, but rather to spark more debates and discussion. Regardless, as always, we’ll just have to wait and see.

As always, walk on with hope in your heart, and You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Stats Are Mere NUMBERS

SUBSTANCE OVER FORM THEORY

Personally, I have never been particularly fond with game stats, be it possession, shots, saves, passing percentages and all that jazz. While many sites and Twitter accounts are purely dedicated to stats, I’ve never been really too into stats.

…..but why?

To put it simply, it’s because while it does allow certain conclusions to be drawn, it doesn’t reflect the true nature of particular aspects of the game. By that, I mean that stats speak, but not on the game in its entirety and definitely not on its specifics.

I’m an accounting student myself, taking up a professional certificate course. In accounting and auditing, we learn something called “substance over form”. It’s internationally-recognised definition is “an accounting concept where the entity is accounting for items according to their substance and economic reality and not merely their legal form. What it means in lay-man terms is basically to disclose information based on what is happening in reality rather than what is seen on paper.

Now how does this relate to football? Really simple. A team can just keep playing safe, short-distance passes around their own half. While getting high percentages in possession. By looking at that particular game’s stats, you’d think that they were “dominating” and “taking the game to the opposition” when in fact, they aren’t.

Since I’m a Liverpool fan, I’ll continue examples with the use of Liverpool players to demonstrate. Keep in mind, it’s all about looking at the reality of it rather than pure numbers.

Joe Allen is a good example, bought by Liverpool for a fee of around £15 million, is very known for having one of the highest pass completion percentages in the league (surpassing 90% if I’m not wrong). To be frank, I’ve never really seen much of Joe before he was linked with Liverpool, and of course by looking at those stats, one would want him at any club.

After watching a few games of Joe’s during the 2012 Summer Olympics as well as his performances in Liverpool, it becomes clear to me why he has such a high percentage of passing completion. Majority of his passes were either to the back, or parallel passes, and on top of that, most are relatively passes of short distances.

Now of course I’m not going to throw numbers for you to read, but it’s clear why Joe Allen can achieve that feat, and it’s simply because most of his passes are easily executed. That is an example of “substance over form”. On paper, his 90+% passing rate is phenomenal, but watch his game in its entirety, and the reality speaks for itself.

Speaking of passing, Steven Gerrard, the club’s Captain Fantastic, has been a man often slated for his less-than-normal displays, while many question his passing accuracy, often times losing possession by executing his passes.

But again, substance over form. Take a step back and think about what kinds of passes he makes – diagonal balls to open play, over-the-top through balls, defence-splitting through balls on the ground, and so on. Now compare these passes with short passes, which levies a higher risk of losing the ball, but at the same time, which carries a higher potential of being a rewarding pass? I’m sure the answer speaks for itself.

Another example would be Andy Carroll. While many praise him for his aerial capabilities, winning headers more than losing them, does anyone actually see where the ball ends up AFTER it gets contact with his head? There are times when he does direct the ball towards goal or towards the feet of teammates, but there are definitely more times when he has headed the ball and end up clueless as to where the ball actually is.

There are times when stats can be the same as the game in reality, for example Arsenal’s passing percentages reflecting their fluid, free-form style of play, or a high number or aerial duels won by a Stoke team focusing on long-ball tactics and having target men upfront. But how often do these happen?

This theory and application of substance over form can apply to basically any team and any player. Luis Suarez may have had 10 goals this season, but how many shot attempts has he actually taken? Wayne Rooney, one of the league’s most consistent scorers in recent years – how many goals from penalties contributed to his tally? Possession stats, how much time was actually used up by passing the ball around the back four?

Compare two strikers with 20 goals each – one with dazzling displays of dribbling before scoring , and another just scoring open goal tap-ins. Who would be a better player disregarding the amount of goals as both are equal in that department?

It’s hard to make out a game by looking at stats alone, because they are just for reference and comparison, but never truly reflect the game and the performance as a whole. Now, I’m not saying stats are “rubbish”, or should be ignored, or “useless”. All I’m saying is, stats are mere numbers, good for reference, good for getting a rough idea of any game, but more often than not, actually observing a player has more credibility.

I’m not here to slate any players, or to upset any fans. I’m just here, writing this article because I feel that there is an overdependence on stats to reflect how good or bad a player is or isn’t. There are times when stats reflect pretty accurately to a player/team’s performance in reality, but there are also times when it doesn’t.

Again, I cannot emphasise this enough. This article isn’t to slate, bash, criticise or insult anyone, be it players, or the fans and it is one that is sure to stir up controversy, debate, agreement and disagreement. However, the contents that you have read above is purely the views and opinion of my own, so feel free to have yours. This isn’t an article to draw final conclusions, but rather to work up the mind and to allow everyone to have a conclusion of their own.

So, do pure stats affect your judgement, or do you look at the performance as a whole? Do you agree with the substance over form theory, or do you disagree? That, I leave it to you.