The heat of hyperbole after the desert of recent failings created a mirage effect around Anfield this summer that seemed to suggest that shimmering silverware was on the horizon. Recent games have revealed that the team that Kenny Dalglish is assembling is still some way from challenging for major trophies. Yet to face either of the Manchester juggernauts, their assault in the upper echelons of the league seems to be fraying, displaying all too familiar signs of weakness.
Up front there is little doubt that Luis Suarez has been a canny acquisition; he adds a potent threat to a strike-force previously blunted by the sagging shoulders of Fernando Torres. His energy and ability on the ball pulls defences apart, allowing the players behind him to exploit the space. With Dirk Kuyt’s tireless endeavour and Stewart Downing’s delivery Liverpool are equipped with a fluid and dangerous attacking three.
It is Dalglish’s dogged defence of Carroll and his bizarre use of the England international that seem to upset the Anfield applecart. Bought for £35 million – all be it with money made from Torres’ sale - he seems to be played almost because of this fact rather than any tactical aim. Played at the fulcrum of an attack and using his forehead as an anvil to smash balls into waiting nets, Carroll undoubtedly has his uses. When Dalglish bought Charlie Adam and Downing in the summer the common held opinion was that Liverpool would be playing down the wings and accruing goals from crosses and set pieces. However, Liverpool, with Suarez in the team, have performed much better with the ball on the ground and it is to this strength that they should be playing.
Watching Carroll's performance against Tottenham, even in the first 25 minutes before Adam’s early bath, was a text book example of his lumbering appearances for Liverpool. He was off the pace and frequently drifting to either wing, picking up positions that he lacks the speed to be a threat from. He’s at his best muscling the centre backs off the ball, less good at sprinting for the corner flag and cutting inside. The worry for Liverpool must be that on the 31st January 2011 Dalglish was delivered an abundance of riches. With little forethought he suddenly had at his disposal two much sought after strikers. Here lies the conundrum that seems to be vexing Kenny. With their arrival the road before Dalglish seems to fork - one with Suarez as the man to build a team round, the other Carroll. The teams he has selected over the last nine months and the results garnered should have Liverpool firmly striding down the Suarez road, confident that over the crest of the hill lie pastures green. Watching the impact the now-departed Raul Meireles and Suarez had coming off the bench against Arsenal should have been a clear indicator to Dalglish. Instead he sold Meireles to a delighted Chelsea and reverted to shoehorning Carroll into a team who want to play football with a level of verve beyond his abilities. If Kenny had hung onto Meireles he could have played this midfield and attack against Tottenham:
-------------Adam-----Lucas-----------
---Kuyt------Meireles------Downing-
-----------------Suarez---------------
All of these issues are within Dalglish’s powers to resolve, he has the players at his disposal to be able to tweak his attack, either dropping Carroll or getting the team to play to his strengths, rather than expect him to play to Suarez’s.
Looking at the summer purchases the feeling is that Jordan Henderson is not the finished article but he is someone who will benefit from game time and coaching from Steve Clarke on the training ground. He is yet to display the brief form he came into last year for Sunderland, notably his domination of Chelsea. If Liverpool can strike upon a clear philosophy it will make it easier for their youngsters to form themselves into players that fit the mould. It is fellow midfield new recruit Charlie Adam that could be far more problematic for Liverpool. There is little doubt about his ability with a dead ball, however he has a tendency to aim his swinging boots not just at leathered spheres but at opponents ankles and knees. This penchant for the more violent aspects of the game have seen him pick up 13 yellow cards in his short time in the Premier League – only Newcastle’s Cheik Tiote has had more in the same period. As the broken ankle Gareth Bale sustained in Adam’s last game at White Hart Lane for Blackpool can testify too, the Scot has a mean streak that often oversteps the mark.
Blackpool fans last year often lamented Adam’s contributions; even with all the goals and assists his expansive game offered. The fan favourite was David Vaughan who many thought was more effective and as the season wore on and Adam’s passing became increasing hopeful, loosing position in 70 yard swipes rather than splitting open defences, Vaughan began to take the plaudits. The final note on Adam has to go to the stat that reveals that of the first four Premier League games this season; he has tried to score from the half way line in three. Wasteful.
This leaves the Liverpool defence, so easily cut apart at the weekend. This was the area may expected heavy investment in and when it finally came in the form of Jose Enrique and Sebastian Coates the needs appeared to have been met. South American pundits have ear marked Coates as being potentially a world class player having already won the Copa America with Uruguay in the summer. If Dalglish can settle on a partnership at the centre, be that with or without Carragher, who brings a combined package beyond his individual attributes, Liverpool should have enough to build a defence to make Pepe Reina sleep easier at night. Injuries have played their part and Liverpool will be much firmer when they can bring either Martin Kelly or Glen Johnson into the team. Even though Johnson is the senior player, Kelly’s displays at the back end of last season proved that should a defence need shoring up, it is his defensive qualities that need to be employed over the more adventurous Johnson.
It is still very early days for the revolution that Dalglish has put into motion and he will be given more time than many to put things right. It would take a monstrous slide down the table to turn the Kop against their King. Dalglish will surely lament that the run of form the team put together in the second half of last season could have been better placed. Should that have come at the start of a season the momentum and good spirit could have been enough to push much them higher in the table. As it is, Kenny’s mean spirited attack on the officials after the defeat to Stoke seems to have punctured the good will at the club and heralded in a more pragmatic view among fans and journalists. The allusions to a conspiracy against them from officials can leave the players feeling powerless in the face of external factors and any manager that voices them sounds bereft of ideas.
Dalglish should note that Alex Ferguson will frequently claim the media are against his team, this subtle difference means that the players think their performances will prove the journalists wrong, creating a perpetual siege mentality in a team that almost should be complacent such has their dominance been for two decades. Liverpool are still very much a work in progress and this season looks set to be one of transition, one where they need to establish a focus and the hope would be that with Gerrard’s imminent return a cohesive strategy will begin to form.
~Ed
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