Reds thrill again in win over Swansea (ESPN article)

[tlw content]

by Dave Usher for ESPN

 

Sunday's thrilling 4-3 win over Swansea City at Anfield conjured up memories of those classic victories over Newcastle United by the same scoreline back in the 1990's. Just as in those epic encounters with the Geordies back in the day, Liverpool were breathtaking going forward, slapstick at the back; there were twists and turns aplenty but thankfully it all turned out nicely in the end.

 

Liverpool's last two Premier League games have been incredibly stressful to watch from a fans' point of view, but the neutrals must love tuning into Liverpool matches as you know you're guaranteed goals (at both ends) and you're certainly going to be entertained.

 

Brendan Rodgers' men are the top scorers in the Premier League now having overhauled Manchester City with this latest four goal salvo, and even with star man Luis Suarez in something of a barren spell (one goal in his last seven now) the goals have continued to flow.

 

Most of Liverpool's wins this season have been comfortable -- many games have been won by halftime -- and this one was shaping up to go the same way as the Reds raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes. Great goals they were too: the first came just three minutes in when Raheem Sterling won possession in his own half and delivered a Philippe Coutinho-esque pass with the outside of his foot to allow Daniel Sturridge to run clear and find the net for the eighth Premier League game in a row.

 

The second was a lovely strike by Jordan Henderson after great work by Sturridge on the right. It hadn't been the kind of blistering start that had blown away Everton and Arsenal in recent home games, but the writing did appear to be on the wall for a Swansea side that have been struggling in recent months. Had Liverpool added a third, then perhaps another rout was on the cards, but former Red Jonjo Shelvey's brilliant curling effort brought Swansea back into the game and earned warm applause from all four corners of the ground. Poor old Shelvey seemed almost apologetic about scoring, but such was the quality of that goal few inside Anfield would have thought less of him if he'd celebrated it.

 

Shelvey was arguably the most influential player on the park in the opening 45 minutes and he was also involved in Swansea's equaliser, winning the free-kick from which Wilfried Bony found the net via a big deflection off Martin Skrtel. Game on now.

 

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[Phoebus]

I think a big part of us reaching our goals this year comes down to not just developing the winning quality you speak of - grinding out wins - but also the developing the younger players into dependable winners.

 

Raheem Sterling has had 22 starts thus far.  Of those, 18 were legitimate features - with at least a half hour of football to show.  He's averaged a goal and an assist for every three or four those games, meaning he's on pace to finish with eight or nine goals and just as many assists.  I can only think of six or so others in the same position (hybrid left winger/right winger) in the entire League who boast comparable statistics.  Only a couple have better numbers than Sterling, and of those only Oxlade-Chamberlain is of comparable age.

 

The scary thing is, Sterling could be even better!  He should have had at least another two goals, which could in turn have easily affected our table position right now. 

 

The same thing goes with Jordan Henderson.  It's been known since the beginning of the season that a lot was going to come down to how well he developed as a player.  We needed him to become pivotal for the team.  He has the energy, he has the talent, and he in many ways has absolutely been the engine for the squad.  But the same nerves that can get Sterling at the worst of times can get to him as well:  poor control, errant passes, and a finishing quality that elicits cheers from opposing stands.  Hendo sits at three goals, but he easily could have bagged a half dozen or more by now.

 

Coutinho, likewise, could be sitting at five goals.  If only he'd handled the ball a touch better when it counted: when facing the goal.

 

Grinding out wins absolutely is important.  I don't mean to contest that point.  Chelsea has shown how important that trait is all season long:  it's how they're currently sitting at the top.  We're in an interesting position, though.  We have the League's third youngest squad (before Sterling and Sturridge hit their birthday marks recently, we were second youngest).  We're also sitting four points clear of the top after finishing last season at 7th place.  We easily - easily! - could have been sitting joint second at this moment, a mere point from the lead.

 

In short, we're in the process of taking a shortcut to greatness.  "Grinding out wins" is something I liken to what Mourinho teams are able to do (with loads of proven quality and depth) and what Ferguson teams were able to do ("Fergie Time", etc.).  It's managing to find a goal where there seemed to be none.  We don't necessarily have a problem finding goals, though.  Our biggest obstacle is the youth that comes attached with all our promise.  It's getting Sterling and Coutinho to poke the ball a little more calmly and gracefully when Suarez serves one up for them on a plate.  it's getting Hendo to nail that curler like he did today, instead of sending it to the stands.

Since this season started, our style of play hasn't truly changed.  Nor has our philosophy.  Our defending has gotten clumsier, but our attacking has gotten better.  Stevie, Luis (So what if he's only scored once since Villa?  He's gotten six assists in that time!), and Daniel have been consistent all season long.  Jordan, Philipe, and Raheem have done almost all of their work since December, though.  And if they'd settled in just a little earlier, well, we already covered that.

 

Statistically speaking, this squad will only get better.  There will still be a few question marks (depth behind Lucas, Glen and Martin's respective fates), but the odds of Coutinho, Henderson, and Sterling regressing are low, and it would be almost as disappointing if they just stayed where they are now.  Rodgers has to do everything to make that development happen now, though, when it matters.  He needs to figure out how to get that ninth or tenth goal/assist as opposed to the projected eight out of Raheem this season, not next.  It could mean everything.