Why Liverpool are now a proper team

Sir Alf Ramsey once said that football managers receive too much praise when things are going well, and too much criticism when things are going badly. Brendan Rodgers’ season is a particularly stark example of this – supposedly a couple of matches away from the sack in December, he’s now receiving rave reviews for Liverpool’s impressive recent unbeaten run.

The criticism was particularly harsh, especially when you consider the reasons for Liverpool’s early-season struggles. Last season’s title challenge was based largely around the sheer individual ability of two players enjoying an outstanding campaign – Luis Suarez was the Premier League’s top goalscorer, and Daniel Sturridge the runner-up – the only time in Premier League history one side has produced the top two goalscorers.

Rodgers generally found a way to maximise their individual abilities, even if it usually resulted in one being pushed out wide into a position they didn’t like, or the system being formatted (in a 3-4-1-2 or 4-4-2 diamond) shape which exposed the defence too frequently. Either way, it was a team based around individuals.

Suarez’s departure to Barcelona, and Sturridge’s continued injury struggles, robbed Liverpool of those talents. Suarez’s replacements, who were all making the step up to a major club for the first time (Mario Balotelli being the exception) took time to settle, and for a while Liverpool were lost. So accustomed to depending upon a couple of star players, sometimes you looked at the Liverpool starting XI and wondered where the magic was going to come from, especially with Steven Gerrard’s form dipping from last season.

Yet Liverpool have regrouped, Rodgers has reformatted the side, and now Liverpool are a proper team – not reliant on individuals, but instead capable of outplaying opponents in midfield, attacking in numbers and defending as a solid unit. The turning point, weirdly, was actually Liverpool’s last league defeat.

The 3-0 reverse to Manchester United was hardly cause for celebration – especially considering the stark turnaround from Liverpool’s 3-0 win over the same opposition last season – but Liverpool actually played well. They dominated for long periods and created more goalscoring chances, and only Raheem Sterling’s finishing let them down. United’s goals came from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie, summarising how they had more reliable players in the final third. But Liverpool’s system looked promising, and Rodgers deserves great credit for seeing the positives – something he’s often criticised for – and sticking with the 3-4-3 system.

The following game, a 2-2 draw with Arsenal, was also highly promising. Liverpool needed a late Martin Skrtel header to rescue a point, but for long periods they’d flummoxed Arsenal, with Adam Lallana and Coutinho drifting inside to overload Mathieu Flamini, and wing-backs Jordan Henderson and Lazar Markovic flying forward to retain the width.

Everything really seemed to fall into place, however, when Steven Gerrard was omitted for Liverpool’s final game of 2014, a 4-1 win over Swansea, with Henderson moving inside to play alongside Lucas Leiva. Now Liverpool had a nice blend of dynamism and discipline, and the side finally felt settled.

Gerrard returned with four goals in his next two games, against Leicester and away at Wimbledon in the FA Cup, and still remains capable of those moments of magic. Yet the team has moved on, and it’s significant that both Gerrard and Sturridge, undroppable last season, are now no longer guaranteed of a start. Rodgers has found the right balance across the pitch, and created a young, hungry side which is dynamic and energetic going forward, but also disciplined and hard-working in the defensive phase of play.

Clearly, you need individual moments of magic too – Henderson and Coutinho have chipped in with some outstanding goals, in particular. But the reformatting of Liverpool’s side isn’t really about systems, about the move to the 3-4-3. It’s more been about evolving from an individual-based side to a proper team, which is the type of football Rodgers has always desired. His Swansea side, for example, were a pure team, a squad without superstars, largely comprised of players accustomed to the lower leagues. The harmony and understanding was wonderful, however, and therefore individual abilities were maximised.

That change in mentality has been crucial, and next season might be even better: Liverpool are now in a position where they could lose anyone and yet continue along the same path, and while the loss of Gerrard isn’t insignificant, the post-Gerrard era might result in Liverpool’s best team for decades.

Tweet this:

Help spread the word of our latest post by tweeting it to your followers…

[tweet_box]Why Liverpool are now a proper team by Michael Cox #liverpool #rodgers #premleague [/tweet_box]