It was
a successful 2013/14 campaign for Brendan Rodgers & co . Exceeded
expectations and you can hardly argue against the perception of pulling over
their weight . So close to glory yet they can only blame themselves for not
completing the marathon as winners . A brief insight on what their objectives
and probabilities of completing those objectives for the coming season .
Post Suarez Era
The 80 million dollar question
is how much of an impact Suarez’s departure will have on Liverpool . Will
Liverpool will endure a similar “ RVP effect ” like Arsenal did ? maybe the
right question to ask is were Liverpool as a team bigger than sum of its parts
? .
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| Luis Suarez |
Even in modern day football we
see players constantly cover up systemic / psychological flaws within a side , with their individual brilliance. An RVP less
Arsenal , Lille post Hazard even Spurs after Bale’s departure have struggled to
cope up . Lille were the worst of the lot , Hazard literally carried them
single handedly - his departure and Lille’s board investing heavily on
development of infrastructure meant they were in complete shambles the next
season . Arsenal brought in players who would eventually settle in, but you can never hide away from the impact of
losing such pivotal players .
Was Suarez the Hazard of
Liverpool ? probably not . He was more so in 2012/13 season than he was in
13/14 , with the arrival Sturridge the team balance and the flag bearer of the side slightly
shifted . So did Liverpool’s style of play - started to counter press more . As a team were very much "gegen pressing" side than "tiki taka" . Rodgers tried various shapes , from a back
three to 4312 diamond midfield to fit both his flag bearers . They were
collectively working as a unit as the season went by they grew more in
confidence and the results were there for everyone to be seen . Statistically Sturridge has been more decisive when Liverpool were trailing than Suarez .
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| Via @basstunedRed |
Top
5 combo play in chance creation involves Suarez . He equaled Premier League record of 31 goals in a season
, which was 30% of Liverpool’s goals last season and managed to assist 12 times
– meaning he was involved in nearly 40 % of Liverpool’s goals last season . Liverpool
were not a one man team – but Suarez had a phenomenal year .
Rodgers will be there on the sidelines - in a sense he is more important for Liverpool than anyone on their rooster .
New Arrivals
Likes of Emre Can , Lazar Markovic
, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert have already arrived . Loic Remy , Dejan
Lovren and Alberto Moreno are the names constantly linked with .
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| Lazar Markovic |
Lazar Markovic ‘s move to
premier league wouldn’t surprise many , another Partizan product . My favorite
Partizan export is currently having pre-season with city . You have to be
patient with him , there were times last season I thought “ Why Jorge Jesus is
still persisting with him “ when he had a poor run of games , but he eventually
made me eat my words . Benfica have been completely torn apart – Markovic ,
Oblak , Siquiera , Garay , Andre Gomes
already gone with Enzo Perez , Nico gaitan , Rodrigo are on the verge of a move
. They were brilliant to watch last season . Markovic has the vision to pick a
pass , which often gets overlooked by his dribbling skills . As he settles into
Premier League I would love to see him more in central areas - which was not possible with Jorge Jesus 's 442 .
Emre Can – physical defensive
midfielder who can play anywhere in the midfield . If Liverpool are to continue
with a 4141 or
a 4312 diamond midfield ( like they did in the later part of last season ) they
needed someone who is defensively solid – to be more useful in possession
playing as the pivot and young ( understudy to Steven Gerrard ) . The player
who ticks all those boxes – Matteo Kovacic . Unfortunately Inter closed the
door for any move away from San siro for their most prized asset . Can’s strength is his versatility – but surely
can improve certain aspects of his game - passing and concentration levels for
instance .
Loic remy , Adam Lallana – there
is a trend to Brendan Rodgers signings , from Borini to Loic Remy ( almost done
) Versatility . Those who watch PL
don’t need any introduction to Loic Remy , Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert . Dejan
Lovren will be a upgrade to Kolo Toure’s imminent departure and increase the squad
depth . Need a quality full back to
complete the puzzle .
Champions league at Anfield
It is very clear what Brendan
Rodgers is trying to build for next season , a versatile front 4 who can
interchange positions constantly / press the opponents / work hard on and off
the ball / break quickly . But does he have a player on the front axis to
create chances ? answer
is no . You can say Coutinho – in my opinion he just tries too much to make
something happen , something he has to improve upon . Which is why Isco to Liverpool will make sense - may or maynot happen . Problem with having such a dynamic attacking quartet is your game becomes one paced and when your
pressing diminishes , your midfield gets overrun .
We didn’t see that from Liverpool last season – mostly due to the fact that they had time to physically prepare for
game . With Champions League football back at Anfield the task for Brendan Rodgers
is not only prepare them psychologically but also physically for a game every
three days . Dortmund struggled to do that when they came back to Europe – got heavily
criticized by the German Press for their Champions league performances . When
they did get that right Bayern ran away with the domestic title . Not saying Liverpool will suffer the same fate ,
Klopp had a relatively thinner squad ( than what Rodgers will have next season
) .
That brings us to the next issue
, how much changes can Rodgers make without disrupting the core ? Arsene Wenger
talked about more than three first team signings can be unhealthy . Now that
Liverpool will be playing 50 odd games
next season they certainly need the squad strength . It has to be more about
quality than quantity – so far it has been that case . But now its Rodgers turn
to incorporate them .
Objectives
The main objective for the
coming season should be to consolidate their position at top – a top four finish .
Considering it’s a whole new challenge , possibly the toughest challenge aswell
. Manchester City have brought in Fernando
and Mangala / Chelsea with Cesc Fabregas , Diego Costa and Luis / Arsenal with
Alexis Sanchez and still in for some big names / Manchester United with Louis van Gaal – the competition
has got even more tougher .Along
with a decent Champions League run , a top four finish should be considered successful
. With so many young talents in the squad the aim must be to build a title challenging
side in two to three seasons .
