A summer of change has been concluded at Liverpool with a young manager replacing an outgoing legend, four new faces added to the first team squad while no less than seven regular squad members making way leaving the club with a thread bare strike force. Calling this summer “Revolutionary” certainly seems fitting.
This summer was always going to be a nightmare for FSG considering the cash spent last season and the subsequent league position – something drastic needed to happen if results were to change on and off the pitch. Since King Kenny took over one the 8th of January 2011, Liverpool’s American owners have sanctioned a spending spree of nearly 115 million pounds in the hope of bringing the club to its rightful place amongst Europe’s elite. Results on the pitch didn’t match the ambitions shown by the owners with Liverpool finishing in a lowly 8th spot.
So FSG had a series of dilemmas on their hands? The first being the legend Kenny Dalglish – do they keep a manager who failed to get the best out of his signings and couldn’t imprint an identity on his team? Hiring King Kenny was always going to be an unwise move because if it didn’t work out and FSG were forced to wield the axe then they would lose the support of a large percentage of the Kop.
And so, in the offices of Boston, John Henry and Tom Werner had a financial conundrum to look into while potentially risk the wrath of the Anfield faithful.
The writing became pretty much on the wall on the 12th of April with the departure of Damien Comolli and you could feel it was only a matter of time before King Kenny would be shown the door as well. The American owners certainly decided to do what they believed is the best solution and credit must be given where credit is due – they showed they have guts to take tough decisions.
A few days after the season was concluded, King Kenny would leave the club for the final time despite winning the Carling Cup and reaching the FA Cup final. Ian Ayre stated the following at the time of the sacking: "If you don't believe the results are right and feel 37 points off the champions and 17 points off Champions League pace is a long distance you have to make a change.”
"Our job now is to identify and recruit the right person to take this club forward and build on the strong foundations put in place during the last 18 months," said principal owner John Henry.
Step in Mr. Brendan Rodgers
So, the manager search commences with reports concluding that the club is looking for a young football philosopher who would implement a well defined football strategy that would shape the future of the club over the coming years.
Several names were mentioned including high profile targets such as former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, Dortmund savior Jurgen Klopp while and Danish legend Michael Laudrup.
FSG certainly took their time during the screening process and at the end there were only 2 confirmed targets – the first was Wigan manager Roberto Martinez who was famously pictured walking besides John Henry in the streets of Miami and the second was Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers.
At one point by the end of May, it seemed a forlorn conclusion that Roberto Martinez would take over the reins at Anfield only for Brendan Rodgers to rise as the number one candidate after a long meeting with John Henry and Tom Werner in the United States where Rodgers revealed a 180 page dossier on how he sees the club going forward – FSG were impressed and indeed convinced that the Northern Irishman was the man for the job.
On the 1st of June 2012, Brendan Rodgers was confirmed as the new man in charge of bringing the glory days back to Anfield road.
John Henry described the new Liverpool boss as “Inspirational” and commended the structured approach that Brendan implements and it is that thorough philosophy that Liverpool would need to maintain if success under Rodgers is to be achieved.
“I started (the dossier) over 15 years ago, and it’s something I’ve been piecing together for many years since,” said Rodgers.
“Then, when I became a manager, I put it into a format with a philosophy and methodology. I’ve added to it throughout and when I came to Liverpool, I presented it to the owners.
“It’s a document on the culture, philosophy and game plan going forward. It’s a model, a short cut to how I work, the kind of players I want tactically and the personality traits of players.”
Transfer Window:
Full squad assessment began but four major obstacles would weigh heavily on Rodgers throughout the summer:
1. Inflated Wages: Since buying LFC in October 2010, John Henry spoke of his bemusement at the massive wage bill at the club when compared to the value of the players to the squad. A squad overhaul over the summer was always going to be top priority with the elder members departing the club in the shape of Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez and Craig Bellamy while underperforming players were also pushed out as Charlie Adam, Jay Spearing, Nathan Eccelston and Alberto Aquilani joining pastures new. Andy Carroll was deemed surplus to requirements as he doesn’t fit the Rodgers’ football philosophy.
2. Limited Transfer Budget: FSG simply could not sanction a spending spree similar to summer of 2011 and so they enforced a sell-to-buy approach throughout the summer.
3. Lack of scouting department: Liverpool had undergone a series of changes with regards to the scouting department after the departure of Damien Comolli. The club agreed deals with Man City duo Dave Fallows and Barry Hunter but they would not be allowed to take on their new roles before the transfer window closes and thus Rodgers was running a one man show throughout the summer.
4. Euro 2012 and Olympics: Liverpool had 9 players representing their nations at Euro 2012 while 3 further players joined their Olympic squads for London 2012. This would prevent Brendan Rodgers from assessing his squad thoroughly until before early August. The European Championships and the Olympics also forced the transfer window to remain slow until mid August.
With the lack of a scouting team to support the new Liverpool boss, he targeted players which he has worked with earlier. First was the failed attempt to sign Gylfi Sigurdsson who Rodgers coached at Swansea – the Iceland international opted to join Tottenham instead. This was followed by the successful acquisition of Italian international striker Fabio Borini from AS Roma – another player who played for Rodgers at Swansea. The Swansea connection would not end there as the Liverpool boss lured Joe Allen to LFC for 15 million pounds. Moroccan Oussama Assaidi was next – a winger who Rodgers scouted through his team at Swansea. Brendan Rodgers continued to strengthen the midfield with the loan signing of former Bundesliga player of the year Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid.
A great summer so far with regards to transfers right?
Well, not quite!
One day before the transfer window closes, Liverpool announce the departure of Andy Carroll on loan to West Ham with Rodgers stating: "It is very simple. The club has made a monumental investment in big Andy. At the moment he is not playing. He made it very clear he wanted to play games and this is his last chance to do that”. The Liverpool manager also confirmed he is very confident the club would sign a replacement or else Carroll would not be allowed to leave.
The transfer window deadline day came and went with Liverpool failing to sign a single player who would fill the void left by England’s number 9.
Brendan Rodgers was honest in his assessment of the failings on transfer deadline day: “I was very confident I had a deal sewn up but it has gone and I can’t do anything about it. There’s no point me crying about it or wishing we had or hadn’t done this or that.”
The failure to bring any additions to the striker department leaves the club with only 2 senior strikers. Moreover, with the departure of Carroll, Liverpool do not seem to possess the players to try out a plan B or spring any tactical surprises.
But, let’s be fair with our assessment here – the club has bought very well throughout the summer and signings of Joe Allen and Nuri Sahin look inspired. Borini has the attributes to become a world class striker while Assaidi’s nominal fee allows the club to nurture his talents quietly without the pressures of a big fee.
The lack of further signings also forces Rodgers to look into the LFC youth team who have been making huge strides over the past few seasons under Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura. With Raheem Sterling already making an impact on the first team, Rodgers is expected to give first team opportunities to the likes of Suso, new signing Samed Yesil, and the forgotten Dani Pacheco amongst others.
The Season so Far:
Liverpool’s season started earlier than usual with the Europa League ties against FC Gomel of Belarus with the English club winning 4-0 on aggregate.
The feel good factor created with the arrival of Liverpool’s new manager quickly evaporated after the harsh 3-0 defeat away to West Brom. This was followed by a nervous display at Hearts in the Europa League.
The game against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City brought a lot of positives as the Reds dominated the game with Vincent Kompany stating that this was the toughest game for city since joining the club. Liverpool’s midfield bossed the game and if it wasn’t for a moment of madness by Martin Skrtel then Rodgers’ boys would have gained all 3 points.
The return leg against hearts was frustrating to say the least with the Reds needing a late goal from Luis Suarez to ensure qualification with Liverpool’s defense once again failing to keep a clean sheet.
Rodgers decided to field several first team members in the game versus Hearts and that decision backfired as the senior members gave a performance to forget against a much improved Arsenal side who claimed a deserved 2-0 win away at Anfield. Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez looked jaded all match long while Pepe Reina continued his alarming slump in form.
The two weeks off during the international break were a much needed break for Rodgers and his backroom team as they analyzed the flaws that have hindered their team so far.
Liverpool’s most recent performance away to Sunderland produced the Reds’ first goal from open play while the midfield bossed the game against a tough opponent. Sadly, once again the defense leaked a very avoidable goal with Reina once again involved in a misguided decision.
Tactics:
The formation and the style of play that Rodgers demands, requires meticulous preparation and practice. The players will need time to take the new philosophy on board and the late arrival of key players from the international tournaments is not helping.
The injury to Lucas has also been a major blow for Rodgers as he is now forced to pull Joe Allen into the holding midfielder role thus reducing Allen’s forward influence.
The first few games of the season featured ferocious pressing up the pitch with Liverpool dominating possession. The Reds are not creating enough goal scoring opportunities though and once again their strikers have failed to hit the target when an opportunity does arise.
Raheem Sterling has been a revelation for Brendan Rodgers so far this season making the left wing position his own.
The first few games under Rodgers remind me of the first few months under Rafa Benitez who had a clearly defined strategy based on pressing high up the pitch and was trying the players to see who would fit most into what he was trying to implement.
That experimentation was evident in Liverpool’s last game against Sunderland as Borini was shifted from the right wing role into the center forward position with Sterling moved to the right and Luis Suarez on the left. Suarez is yet to impress in his Liverpool career when leading the line on his own. With the lack of striking options and Borini’s slow start to his Liverpool career, goals are proving to be scarce for the Reds once again this season.
In midfield, Joe Allen has been inspirational in the deep lying midfielder role while Gerrard is struggling to get to grips with what Rodgers requires. Gerrard and Shelvey traded positions in the last game against Sunderland with the England captain asked to play the deeper role with Shelvey placed higher up the pitch.
The Reds are yet to transition well once losing possession as the defense looks increasingly vulnerable when a pass is miscued high up the pitch especially when both full backs are acquiring the attacking wing positions. Moreover, as good as Joe Allen has been this season, we can still notice the lack of defensive positioning that Lucas would take for example.
The goal scored by Sunderland is a perfect example of a counter attack down the Liverpool’s left wing side with Johnson out of place and Joe Allen failing to close that space in time.
Pepe Reina should also hold his hand high as his lunge was far too soon and he could have made Steven Fletcher’s work far more difficult had he been more patient.
The form of Liverpool’s senior players has been a cause of concern for Rodgers this season with Gerrard looking out of sorts while Luis Suarez continues to take awkward decisions in front of goal. The decision to lob the Arsenal keeper after being put clean through on target was highly regrettable. Pepe Reina meanwhile continues his slump and Liverpool must surely consider signing a replacement.
Tactically, the Reds have lined up as follows:
Starting Formation:
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| Liverpool's Starting Formation |
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| Liverpool's Attacking Positioning |
In Defense:
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| Liverpool's Defensive Positioning |
Brendan Rodgers must be given enough time to implement his philosophy on the team and the club as a whole.
John Henry has protected the Liverpool manager from unreasonable expectations by claiming that Champions League football is the target by 2015.
I expect Liverpool to improve as the season progresses and hopefully the club will maintain a top 8 position come January. With the addition of a dependable striker and perhaps another addition then the club can certainly push on until the end of the season.
But until January, I expect the youth to take a more prominent role within the first team squad and this will lead to an exciting unpredictability to Liverpool’s results.
For the Liverpool fans out there, enjoy each game as it comes, remain patient and give Rodgers time. Champions League certainly seems out of reach this season so manage your expectations and take this season for what it is – a season of transition.
