The frenetic, exhilarating, free-scoring Liverpool side of the 2013/14 season which yielded an extraordinary 101 goals now seems like a very distant memory. Last season saw a dramatic drop to 52 league goals, and 5 games into the new 2015/16 campaign, the Reds have managed just 3 goals so far. It’s not as if we’ve been especially wasteful in front of goal either- there have been a few missed chances, but generally the lack of creativity and firepower in the team right now is clear. As we saw in the opening 3 games of the season, it isn’t always necessary to be prolific in terms of goals in order to get positive results. The difference is now we have seemingly forgotten how to defend, having conceded 6 goals in 2 games following 3 consecutive clean sheets, we are struggling badly due to deficiencies at both ends of the pitch. The defensive issues can be explained fairly easily- Skrtel and Lovren are not reliable defenders and will continue to make mistakes as long as they are first choice. Then there’s the obvious issue of a lack of defensive midfield protection, a position which hasn’t been properly addressed throughout Rodgers’ tenure at the club. But putting aside our defensive woes, what is going wrong up top?
Firstly, I don’t feel that our absence of goals is due to a lack of individual quality in the forward positions. Having got rid of the dead wood by shifting Borini, Lambert and Balotelli (on loan), along with the big money arrivals of Benteke for £32.5 million and Firmino for £29 million, joined also by Danny Ings and Divock Origi (end of loan spell), our forward options have been upgraded for this season. One might point out the factor of new players needing time to settle as a potential reason for the early lack of goals in the side. It’s true that it will take time for players to build understanding, but this cannot be the key to our striking struggles. Look at Leicester for example, who have fielded a whole host of new signings this season, but are scoring goals for fun week-in, week-out, with a new manager as well. Therefore, the issue at Liverpool right now is a more fundamental tactical problem. Rodgers has yet to find a successful system to get the best out of his attacking options.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Rodgers seems set on using a 4-3-3 formation, and yet this does not suit Liverpool’s current personnel. For this to work, he needed to either keep hold of Markovic, or sign another winger, because Ibe is far from the finished article and he remains our only natural wide option. Instead, what we’ve been seeing is Firmino and Coutinho shoehorned out wide, 2 players whose natural inclinations are to drift into central positions. They are both highly talented Brazilian internationals, yet their freedom to influence games is hindered by playing out of position, especially Firmino who arrives under the pressure of a hefty transfer fee. Benteke has been left isolated and starved of service thus far as a result, because there is virtually no one crossing the ball into the penalty area from out wide. In an attempt to remedy this, Rodgers gave Ings his first start at the weekend, and yet for some strange reason which fans and pundits alike cannot comprehend, Ings was played out on the left instead of up front alongside Benteke. In fact, as Carragher pointed out correctly on MNF, Ings spent most of the game tracking back into a left wing back position, which is an absurd tactical misuse of a striker. Firmino spent the majority of the game doing likewise on the opposite flank, hence Benteke was left even more isolated than before.
Other than fielding players out of position, the other main reason for Liverpool’s inability to score goals has been the general lack of intensity in our overall level of performance. Even when we were getting results in the opening 3 games, we didn’t play exciting, energetic football. 5 games in, we still look devoid of ideas going forward, whilst also leaking goals at the back- not a good combination. There is a distinct sense that our players are playing within their own capabilities in an unsuccessful attempt to fulfil a brand of rigid, defensive football. This can work, but only if the team actually succeeds in keeping solid at the back whilst carrying a genuine threat on the counter attack. At the moment, we’re doing neither. The passing is slow, laboured and inaccurate, meaning our attacking moves break down all to easily. As Neville pointed out on MNF, there are no players running in behind opposition defences, which makes it very easy for teams to defend against us. Benteke mainly plays with his back to goal, so he needs players running beyond him to collect knock downs and one-twos. Firmino is good at this, but he cannot do so when he spends all game tracking back down the right wing. The same applies to Ings when fielded on the left.
The last major issue regarding the lack of goals is in our midfield- goals cannot only come from forward players. In the past, we’ve always been able to rely on Gerrard to hit double figures every season. Henderson has also shown an increasing tendency to chip in with a fair few goals and plenty of assists, and yet with our captain out injured, our midfield trio of Milner, Can and Lucas carries virtually no attacking threat whatsoever which is a major concern. Allen will improve this situation once he returns either. Our best bet for goals in midfield right now comes from Henderson and Milner, but this requires a capable holding player to allow them the freedom to make forward runs and join in the attack, although Can is unproven in this disciplined role and there are doubts over Lucas’ athleticism and lack of pace. As a two-man pivot, the defensive responsibilities of Henderson and Milner prevent them from breaking forward.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
So how does Rodgers rectify these problems to get the team scoring goals again? The first step has to be playing our best players in their natural positions. The obvious solution would seem to be the diamond formation, allowing Firmino to play either alongside Benteke or more likely in the number 10 role behind him, with Ings or Origi playing up front in a 2 man attack with Benteke. Coutinho can play in the number 10 role or further deep in the slightly wider roles, whilst the likes of Henderson, Milner and Can can easily slot into the central positions. As this is a narrow system, it would require Ings or Origi to provide width up front, whilst I would also like to see the reintroduction of Moreno to provide pace and drive down the left hand side. In terms of addressing the lack of players making forward runs and the lack of intensity in our performances, this requires Rodgers to rethink his strategy (once again), possibly abandoning his failing attempt at ‘park-the-bus’ style football for a more free flowing attacking game. Put simply, I don’t think our central defenders are good enough to allow us to grind out 1-0 wins every week, so I’d rather see us rediscover our attacking edge and start winning games by scoring goals again.
The lack of goals in midfield is something which I think comes down to deficiencies in the transfer market, but there is still enough firepower in this current Liverpool squad to cause problems for any side. The other obvious factor which I haven’t yet mentioned is the imminent return of Daniel Sturridge. When fit, he is no doubt among the very best strikers in the country. I really do hope his injury troubles are well and truly behind him, but as we’ve learned in the past, we cannot rely on Sturridge to be fit. Of course, he will add a significant goal threat to our attack, and Rodgers must find a way to get both him and Benteke firing on all cylinders. I do also think that it would be wrong to assume that Sturridge can immediately solve all our attacking problems, because as I have explained, the issues lie deeper than just the degree of quality at Rodgers’ disposal.
The question is whether Rodgers will make these necessary changes to get the team scoring goals again. My worry is that he will continue to keep faith in the same style of dull, ineffective football we’ve seen so far. Rodgers is a rather stubborn manager, and as we see every week, the changes that seem obvious and necessary to all the fans are not necessarily put into practice by our manager, which is frustrating. We can all see that Ings is not a left winger, nor is Firmino a right winger, just as we can see that Sakho is a much better defender than Lovren. Setting the team up in the right way is just as important, if not more so, than the lineup Rodgers selects. If he gets that right soon, we can get this season back on track. On the other hand, I have little faith left in Rodgers to recognise the issues and make the requisite adaptations. Only time will tell, but with home fixtures upcoming against Norwich and Aston Villa, only 6 points will do. The fans will want to see a significant improvement in terms of goals and performances. If one thing is abundantly clear, it is that time is running out for Rodgers and patience is wearing very thin indeed- change is needed now.
Red Regista
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