Our problems

[JustTosh]

I've quoted the key bits for me. The best thing I've seen on Match of the Day this season was an analysis of Torres. Hansen was pointing out that he ALWAYS plays centrally, and always plays forward. No wandering off onto the wings, no chasing back hunting for the ball in midfield. He's also the only striker with genuine pace (Voronin isn't slow and Kuyt can be quicker than you'd expect, but they're not Brian Habana quick). For all our creativity problems, I actually think that we have plenty of quality in midfield and that it's the strikers who are the problem. As someone pointed out yesterday, our defence plays very deep, sucking the midfield back and so the gap between the midfielders and strikers is huge. Personally, with the squad we have, I would play to our strengths midfield) and avoid our weaknesses (forwards) by playing a genuine 4-5-1. Alonso and Mascherano playing as liberos, breaking down attacks and starting new ones for us. Pennant/Benayoun and Babel encouraged to get RIGHT forward and Gerrard thrusting through the centre, with Torres as a true lone centre forward; problem would be with that system is that Torres is the only striker who's got all the attributes to play up front on his own.

 

We do lack pace up front, and Babel is frustratingly right footed. He was constantly cutting inside his man against Besiktas, he doesn't want to get to the corner flag and haul in a cross. As Andy Gray pointed out, he's always looking to get near the box. Someone else pointed out in a post yseterday that Babel should be usnig his pace to break into the box, not break over the halfway line, and I'd agree with all of that. For me, though, priority signing is another striker, someone quick, strong and a finisher (hmmmm, sounds like Torres to me!) rather than a winger. With Benayoun and Pennant, we have the right combination of skill and pace.

 

I agree that 4-5-1 with Torres could be a good idea. If nothing else it would put Gerrard where I want him; central and attack-minded. However, there’s a danger: With our defense defending deep, sucking the midfield back as you elegantly called it, might leave Torres isolated. He’ll need support from behind. With Torres as a lone striker, please tell Carra hoofing is a crime, a very serious crime indeed!

[Malarkey]

Nothing wrong in cutting inside when the situation is right. But Wednesday Babel repeatedly had acres and acres of space on the outside left, still he chose the inside route only to be surrounded by half the Turk population. My frustration was aching in my bones. I guess moxter is right. He did it because his left foot is lame.

 

Or because he wants to score goals.

[JustTosh]

Or because he wants to score goals.

 

Well, he didn’t score, did he? He should be concerned about the team scoring goals, not whether he’s the one . If going inside is the most likely way to create a chance and a possible goal, that’s’ what he should do. However, on Wednesday it was obvious for everyone to see time and again that going down the left looked a much better option.

 

Riise fires 500 shots a season from up to 40 yards out. He’s doing it because he wants to score. That doesn’t necessarily means shooting is always his best option.

[banger]

Our problems are none of my fucking business. Thats why we pay a manager.

Unless we are all geordies and beleive all that crap about most knowledgable football fans Good God man What the fuck do I know about tactics in the League. About as much as any other cunt thats how much

[robslappa]

Our problems are none of my fucking business. Thats why we pay a manager.

Unless we are all geordies and beleive all that crap about most knowledgable football fans Good God man What the fuck do I know about tactics in the League. About as much as any other cunt thats how much

 

 

So why comment?

[stringvest]

it doesn't stop anyobody else

[robslappa]

But our problems are our business and we do have a right to say what we think.

[SCOUSE TAPAS]

It’s not about rotation it’s about formation!

 

Let’s look at Man Utd firstly. It has been a hallmark of Fergie’s teams in the Premiership era that they operate a 4-4-2 formation with 2 orthodox wingers. Fergie has built successive squads without breaking from this formation. The key then to the squad is having players who fit exactly to positions. So, for example, Fergie will rotate Nani with Giggs, Hargreaves with Carrick, Anderson with Scholes, Saha with Rooney/Tevez. The point is the player coming in plays in exactly the same position within the system as the player he rotates with. Hence each player knows his and every other players role in the team and becomes familiar with the pattern of play. It should only become a problem if injuries and suspensions force a formation change.

 

Now let’s look at Liverpool and Chelsea. What is their formation? Good question. At the core of the criticism directed at Mourinho before he quit Chelsea was that they played dull football. I believe this is because Mourinho had no set formation and it is questionable whether he ever knew what his best team was. Here’s how it works (or in this case doesn’t work). If one match you play Robben and Cole wide with (say) Essien and Lampard in the middle and the next week its Lampard, Ballack, Obi and Essien, there’s a problem.

 

Playing with two wingers is very different to playing with 4 orthodox midfielders. With Chelsea and Liverpool some weeks it’s 2 wingers, some weeks 1 and some weeks none. The formation also varies within matches depending on the use of substitutes.

 

With the pace of the modern game players need to be able to do things instinctively. Having to readjust for the width or lack of width in midfield and, from a strikers perspective, adapt constantly to receiving the ball from totally different angles, for me, is the key factor and not the quality of the players being rotated.

 

Granted it is preferable not to rotate a large number of players at once and no matter how good the squad some players will always be better than others but I believe having a formation, sticking with it, and building a squad to fit to the positions in that formation can breathe a level of familiarity into the equation which eases the risk of player rotation.

[SCOUSE TAPAS]

as with any manager, you have some good points and bad points. If Wenger’s a master at nurturing talent and if his teams play beautiful football, he’s also capable of being too rigid with his system and of not having a Plan B for his sides.

 

If Ferguson’s the master of attacking football, he can be faulted for falling out with his best players and for some tactical mistakes in crucial matches in the last decade or so.

 

What about Rafa Benitez? He is a master tactician, and his transfer strategy is good. But when it comes to the Premiership race, Liverpool, under Rafa, have been found lacking.

 

In a nutshell, Rafa’s tactics are to defend first, to keep a clean sheet and to come away with one or two goals. A defensive mentality and pushing to control the game in midfield can work in spades for you IF you match it with the right offensive / counter-attacking strategy.

 

However, Rafa’s teams are disorganised in attacking from open-play.

 

One example - I made a point to compare the way each of the top four teams chose to attack the opposing penalty area during the last season. Chelsea were direct (more than the rest atleast), United attacked in the most numbers and Arsenal dominated in controlling the box around the area.

 

All three teams had their forward 6 move in unison, the wingers and strikers making runs and space for themselves.

 

Liverpool? You’d have the two central midfielders sitting back, the wingers cutting in but not pushing forward and invariably one of the strikers waited outside the box. In short, Liverpool’s attacks had no fluidity, no rhythm, no concert. Where you’d see 4-6 Arsenal shirts attacking the opposition box as one, you’d see 3 Liverpool shirts running ahead without backup.

 

This has nothing to do with the players and everything to do with the manager.

 

I’m not saying that Liverpool can’t win the league with Rafa - in fact under him they have their best chance in a long long time.

 

But for Liverpool to win the Premiership, it’s not just the players that Liverpool needs. It’s a change in Rafa that must take place as well. His teams have to be more aggressive, more clinical.

 

Rafa himself has to change - it’s a challenge for him, and as much as I think that he’s done well, I’m sure he can do better.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Good posts there Scouse Tapas.

[Dirk]

Alonso set for balancing act

 

Oct 27 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

 

OF all the theories put forward to explain Liverpool’s alarming loss of form during the past six weeks, there is one that stands out above all the others.

 

While Rafael Benitez’s side have lumbered from Champions League defeat to Premier League underachievement, a frustrated Xabi Alonso has been left kicking his heels in the stands.

 

The statistics alone illustrate the impact of the Spaniard’s absence. Since the midfielder fell victim to the curse of the metatarsal at Portsmouth in early September, Liverpool have won just three of eight games, slipping to fourth in the league and to the brink of embarrassment in Europe.

 

Now, after returning to the squad as an unused substitute in Istanbul against Besiktas in midweek, Alonso is primed to once again take his place at the heart of Benitez’s midfield as Liverpool entertain leaders Arsenal in tomorrow’s titanic contest.

 

And Benitez believes the return of Alonso will prove influential and bring an extra dynamic to the team’s forward play that has been missing in recent weeks.

 

“It’s clear that with Xabi, Daniel Agger or Fabio Aurelio, players with quality in possession, you can improve your attack,” he says. “The question is to find the balance. Xabi is a top class player. If he plays well, then the team plays well.

 

“In midfield we have Gerrard now playing better the other day, and if you have Gerrard, Mascherano or Xabi playing well then you know the team will play better.

 

“Xabi can play with pace. He has pace with the ball. It’s important that we have someone who can switch the play before the opposing defenders are organised, he can pass the ball 40 yards so the defenders don’t have time. Sometimes you need a player like Xabi.”

 

Should he make tomorrow’s starting line-up, Alonso will come up against compatriot Cesc Fabregas, the Arsenal midfielder whose scintillating form has propelled the Gunners to the top of the Premier League and a run of 12 successive victories.

 

While an undeniably impressive sequence, it must be pointed out that nine of those games have been played at their Emirates home with Arsenal yet to negotiate any significant hurdles this season.

 

Although Arsene Wenger’s side won at Anfield in both the FA and League Cups last season, Liverpool have scored three straight home league wins over the Gunners under Benitez’s tutelage.

 

The only remaining unbeaten top-flight records will go on the line tomorrow, and Benitez is confident his side are primed to make amends for their Turkish torment on Wednesday by ending

 

“Arsenal are in a very good moment right now, they are playing well, scoring goals and have confidence,” he says. “But at Anfield, against a top team, the motivation for our players will be easy. We will look to control them when they have the ball and beat them when we have the ball.

 

“It could be a test for Arsenal to play against a top team, and for us a test to play against the team that is at the top of the table.

 

“It’s a bit like the derby against Everton. Everybody was saying we weren’t playing well, but in a derby anything can happen, and it’s the same in a game against a top side as Arsenal at Anfield; anything can happen.

 

“It’s a long race and you will have a lot of difficult games. We have had difficult games recently and maybe Arsenal have had easier ones, especially as they scored early on in midweek.”

 

Despite Liverpool’s disappointing recent form, they are still enjoying their best start to a Premier League campaign since Benitez arrived at the club in June 2004.

 

And with the injury list starting to clear, the Spaniard is confident of success tomorrow.

 

“Last season, we were something like 12 points behind the leaders at this stage, there were two teams at the top with more or less the same number of points,” says Benitez. “But now, with just Arsenal ahead, there is just one team and you know they will have problems and difficult games like all the other teams and will lose some points.

 

“I have confidence we will beat Arsenal and be three points behind. But if we cannot, it is a long, long race and we need to keep going.”

 

Liverpool’s recent profligacy was highlighted against Besiktas, with only Steven Gerrard’s late header to show for 28 shots on goal.

 

Matters should improve with the return of Fernando Torres from injury tomorrow and, while happy with the overall performance of his strikers, Benitez acknowledges the need to be more ruthless.

 

“We should be scoring more goals, especially when you have 28 attempts like we did on Wednesday,” says the manager. “Our problem now is that before, we were so good in defence we could create chances and chances and we’d finally score and get a result.

 

“But now we are making some mistakes in defence and you can see the results. We have to give the strikers the confidence in the defenders, it’s a vicious circle.”

 

However, Benitez believes there have been signs of an improvement in Liverpool’s last three games, even though the only victory of that spell came in the controversial Goodison derby last Saturday.

 

“We are not playing at our level but we are improving now,” he says. “The last few games we have been improving. We showed character at the end of the game against Tottenham, we played really well in the first 20-25 minutes against Everton and we showed character again later on, and the other day against Besiktas we had plenty of possession and created chances. But I agree that we need to score more.”

 

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2007/10/27/alonso-set-for-balancing-act-64375-20016349/

 

Regarding the part I've highlighted, I think it highlights what Rafa means by the word "control".

[Red Nick]

That defo sound like Stevie, Xabi and Javier in the same team to me

[Thants]

Bung Stevie on the right and he should have no complaints if we win. The SKY-led dweebs will throw a wobbler though.

[Moo]

Bung Stevie on the right and he should have no complaints if we win. The SKY-led dweebs will throw a wobbler though.

 

 

I posted the following in June and still believe it to be the case:

 

 

As for the right winger/midfielder' date=' Gerrard showed the year before last he can be everything we need and more on the right. He could be that again if the team mentality was correct and he had other top quality attackers to play off and interchange with, he'd enjoy it more and would be a joy to watch.[/quote']

 

 

Since then we've added Torres and Benayoun, who have made an immediate impact.

I am convinced that with them in the team (or Crouch for Benayoun) Gerrard would again enjoy himself inside/outside right.