Our style of play

[Kenneth]

The chasm exist in the number of defensive errors those teams make compare to us. They don't make many, while we give away two or three each and every match. Ironically I think for 30 minutes against City we were excellent, in terms of balance between our defence and attack, then lost concentration and gave it away. That's what we need to improve on. Keep the ball, win your second balls when you haven't got it and win your duels. That's what wins you football games in the PL.

[Shaggy]

[captainfog]

Hahaha!

[MrMichael]

I'll throw this one in for discussion. Some obvious issues as a piece (think its from an NFL blog) but some interesting bits too...

Diagnosing Liverpool’s Early-Season Slump

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/liverpool-champions-league-slump-aston-villa/

After last season’s unlikely, high-flying, high-scoring, high-octane season, things are looking a lot more mundane for Liverpool at the moment. Their last two Premier League results have been pedestrian losses to West Ham and Aston Villa. Those defeats are bookended by a ludicrous last-second victory over Champions League minnow Ludogorets Razgrad and a League Cup match in which they needed 14 penalty shots to beat Championship side Middlesbrough.

Usually, a bad week or two shouldn’t be cause for alarm. Stuff happens, and eventually, hopefully, it stops happening. Liverpool are dealing with the injury of Daniel Sturridge and a roster with a lot more moving parts than last season, thanks to a massive influx of players after a summer spending spree. And there’s the little matter of the departure of Luis Suárez. It would be easy to write this off as early-season hiccups.

The problem with that thinking is that what’s dragging Liverpool down now isn’t new. These issues were present last season; they just didn’t sink Liverpool. Now they’re starting to.

The Attack Needs Space

Over the last season and a half, Liverpool have developed an insanely wide-open style. They force turnovers in dangerous midfield areas and fly upfield at terrifying speed. That part of their game hasn’t changed. In fact, they brought in a number of pieces that excel specifically at that, none more prominently than new left back Alberto Moreno. Just ask poor Andros Townsend.



iverpool’s two victories this season have come against Tottenham and Southampton, two teams that are insistent on trying to push up the field — the very approach that Liverpool are good at exploiting. Open games involve lots of chances taken and chances given up, and that’s a situation manager Brendan Rodgers can live with, because he’s confident his squad will be better at converting them than the opposition.

The problems for Liverpool come when the team they’re playing isn’t interested in going toe-to-toe. Sitting back and not giving Liverpool space to fly has proved an incredibly effective strategy for slowing them down.

Last season, Liverpool managed to stay one step ahead of bus depot teams in part by converting set pieces. In fact, they led the league with 26 goals from set pieces, well overperforming their 16.85 expected goals. While the team definitely had some set piece tricks up its sleeve (in situations that resulted in two corner kicks in a row, Steven Gerrard would often take the first one but not the second, leading to confusion among defending sides), it’s hard to believe it had nine goals’ worth of them.

Of those 26 goals, 14 came either directly or indirectly from free kicks. That was, again, the most in the league by a wide margin (Manchester City was second with nine). They had 69 shots from free kicks, which was second only to Sunderland (who you’d imagine took every possible opportunity to get the ball on goal). How did Liverpool manage to get so many free kick opportunities, you ask?

Hello, Luis. In his final season at Anfield, Suárez was second in the league in draw fouls in the attacking third of the field, averaging 1.17 per 90 minutes (only Adnan Januzaj averaged more).

Last season, if you sat deep against Liverpool, it was only a matter of team before they broke through. If it wasn’t from the run of play, they had Suárez to draw fouls, and some powerful set piece mojo to follow it up. This year they don’t have that. Sit deep and defend, and Liverpool will have a very tough time breaking you down.

No-Win Defending

It’s easy to blame Liverpool’s defense for Liverpool’s record. They’ve given up eight goals, which is the fifth-worst in the Premier League. In five games, they’ve already made two individual errors leading to goals. Only four teams have more than one. And while Liverpool’s back four are doing a good job of not conceding shots (the 46 they’ve conceded is the third-fewest in the league), an astonishing amount of those shots are finding their way on target. Opponents are getting 41.3 percent of their shots on goal — the league average is 31.5 pecent. Perhaps that means Liverpool are having some bad luck, and eventually opposition attackers will start missing. On the other hand, opponents shoot at an average of 17.6 yards away (the second-closest in the league), so maybe these are the signs of dangerous defensive deficiencies.

Still, Liverpool’s attacking tactics put an inordinate amount of pressure on the defense. Since Rodgers is so committed to sending players forward, it is that much more dangerous when they don’t get through. Even in the dying minutes of a Champions League game, up a goal, Liverpool were rushing the Ludogorets net. When Raheem Sterling lost the ball in the 90th minute, Liverpool ended up with four players on the wrong side of the ball (pause the highlight at 1:29 to watch a bunch of Liverpool attackers stand around while Ludogorets go counterattacking in the other direction).

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A6DE3tgqpo"]Liverpool FC Vs Ludogorets 2014 - Champions Laegue - Highlights goals video 2-1 - YouTube[/ame]

At the end of the move, it’s Dejan Lovren who looks bad, but the problems start much farther up the field. Moreno is caught out of position first; then Gerrard, who is supposed to be shielding the defenders, is easily bypassed. This all leads to the back line being exposed.

This is now a multi-season habit for the Reds. Last season, their 13 errors leading to a goal was second only to Tottenham’s mind-blowing 21. Obviously, the hope for Liverpool was that by upgrading the defensive personnel, the mistakes would be reduced. But that’s shortsighted. The system is as culpable as the personnel.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Five of the six most error-prone teams in the Premier League last season were in the top half. If you leave defenders isolated, they will make mistakes eventually.

The problem for Liverpool is they aren’t getting adequate returns on their defensive risk-taking. The full-backs are flying upfield, the midfielders are diving into tackles, trying to win the ball back, and wingers are still not tracking back — instead staying high up the pitch to initiate attacks. Those attacks aren’t succeeding, because they are running into well-organized, patient defenses (everything is connected!).

Eventually, something will have to give. Liverpool reaped the benefits of their high-flying approach last season. This campaign, it’s been nothing but consequences. Either Rodgers will find a way to organize his talent and produce higher-quality chances against compact defenses, or he is going to have to modify the system and stop taking so many positional risks.

[danperkins]

Interesting read... cheers for posting. IMO it's pretty spot on

[Muddled]

Is the Diamond Dying at Liverpool?

Brendan Rodgers implemented the rarely used midfield diamond with great success during the closing stages of the 2013-2014 season. With the substitution of Javier Manquillo for Mamadou Sakho in the 22nd minute of Saturday’s loss to West Ham, Rodgers scrapped the diamond for a 3-5-2. Does this signal the beginning of the end of the diamond or was it just a tactical switch in the face of an early deficit?



The starting formation cannot be the sole blame for Liverpool’s lacklustre showing against the Hammers on Saturday. West Ham opened the match by pressing and challenging Liverpool for every ball, while the Reds’ sluggish start and continued mental lapses at the back saw them 2-0 down after only seven minutes.

A key component of West Ham’s play was Stewart Downing taking Steven Gerrard out of the game. There is perhaps no more important position in the midfield diamond than the player at the base and Downing pressed Gerrard into several mistakes both before and after the formation switch. While Liverpool had the ball, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho did an excellent job of pinning back Manquillo and Moreno with their aggressive play out wide. This effectively forced Skrtel and Lovren into riskier passes up the field to Lucas, Henderson or Sterling as opposed to using the safety valve that is Steven Gerrard or either of the fullbacks.

The poor or forced passes (especially from Lovren) paved the way for West Ham to attack at pace and Liverpool was seen constantly retreating, which only served to isolate the attacking players more from the midfield. This lead to very little fluidity in the Reds’ passing play.

Player Personnel

A few key components were missing from the 11 on Saturday as both Joe Allen and Daniel Sturridge were sidelined with injuries for the second straight week. Those injuries coupled with Philippe Coutinho being left out proved to be too much for the Reds to handle. As opposed to playing a 4-2-3-1 as Liverpool did against Aston Villa the week before at Anfield, Rodgers opted to move Fabio Borini up front with Mario Balotelli. This left Liverpool a little more exposed in the midfield and West Ham took full advantage from the early going by pressing the Reds into multiple mistakes.

Sturridge brings an extra dimension to the Reds’ forward line that neither of our Italian strikers can offer. His pace and trickiness on the ball helps to keep defenses honest and his familiarity in our quick linking passing play is miles ahead of Borini or Balotelli. His importance to the team is highlighted by the fact that of the 11 league games Liverpool has lost since his arrival in January 2013, Daniel either was not involved at all or was only used as a second half sub in eight of those losses. In other words, Liverpool have only lost three times in the league with Sturridge in the starting lineup.

Joe Allen has been somewhat of a bright spot for Liverpool in the early stages of the 2014-2015 season. He put in a solid performance against Spurs at White Hart Lane back in August and even won a penalty to help seal the victory. With Coutinho left out, one has to wonder if Rodgers would have selected the Welshman over Lucas, whose sole appearance this season was 63 minutes against Southampton, before being replaced by Allen. Lucas did leave the field at halftime against West Ham to make way for Adam Lallana, who had a good showing in the second half.

Lallana has yet to be deployed in the sides of diamond for Brendan Rodgers and it will be very interesting to see if he is given the opportunity to assert himself in that role. Lallana is not the gritty ball-winning player that Lucas or even Emre Can can be for Liverpool, but his ability to open himself up to link passes and contribute in the attack is of a much higher quality than that of Lucas or Can.

The Future

To play in a diamond, it appears Liverpool are lacking another fleet footed forward for when Sturridge is inevitably out injured again. Borini is quick, but his open field speed will not frighten any Premier League defences. Balotelli is excellent on the ball and his prowess in the box is top notch, however like Borini, he’s not going to scare defences into sitting back with his pace. Markovic or Sterling could be used alongside Balotelli, but their unfamiliarity with the position and lack of game time teaming up with the big Italian would cause delays in productivity.

As seen in the first half against West Ham, Gerrard is not always at his best in the holding role. Some teams are going to overrun him with his aging legs unable to keep up, especially after a mid-week Champions League game. The key for Liverpool, should they want to continue with this formation on a consistent basis will be to identify a stand in for Gerrard.

As our squad stands now, the only player I see able to fill th role is Jordan Henderson. He certainly has the legs to cover the position and he’s not afraid to get stuck in challenging the opposition. His distribution and passing has come on leaps and bounds as evidenced by critical passes in the build up to Raheem Sterling’s goals against both Southampton and Tottenham.

Unfortunately, Henderson is probably better suited on the side of the diamond where he has so proficiently served since the formation was adopted last season. This leaves only Lucas or Can to play at the base, neither of which have anywhere the ball playing ability of a Gerrard, but both can at least bring a tough approach to breaking up the oppositions play in the counter attack.

Other Options

A lot of talk has been made about Mario Balotelli or Rickie Lambert being a replacement for losing Suarez, but it is really Sturridge who has to fill the role left behind by Luis. Balotelli and Sturridge looked dangerous together against Tottenham and Liverpool will be hopeful of seeing that partnership blossom once Daniel is back to full fitness. Until then, or when Sturridge is out injured in the future, the diamond is not a viable option for Liverpool. The pace and work ethic of the forwards is lacking with any other combination of strikers currently on the Reds’ payroll.

Rodgers had great success deploying a variety of formations last season. 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and even variations of three at the back all seemed to work for the Reds. The ability to be flexible week in and week out made preparing for Liverpool a difficult endeavor for almost every team in the Premier League. The challenge for Brendan this season, on top of the extra demands of Champions League football, will be to implement several new signings into the multiple styles of plays Liverpool so eloquently moved in and out of last season. How long that process takes will determine how the rest of the 2014-2015 season is remembered on Merseyside.

LINK: EPL Index

[dom9]

Rodgers said this week that the current personnel are not yet equipped to play the diamond. Ditching it is temporary.

[Norbs]

I'll throw this one in for discussion. Some obvious issues as a piece (think its from an NFL blog) but some interesting bits too...

Diagnosing Liverpool’s Early-Season Slump

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/liverpool-champions-league-slump-aston-villa/

The Attack Needs Space

Over the last season and a half, Liverpool have developed an insanely wide-open style. They force turnovers in dangerous midfield areas and fly upfield at terrifying speed. That part of their game hasn’t changed. In fact, they brought in a number of pieces that excel specifically at that, none more prominently than new left back Alberto Moreno. Just ask poor Andros Townsend.



Liverpool’s two victories this season have come against Tottenham and Southampton, two teams that are insistent on trying to push up the field — the very approach that Liverpool are good at exploiting. Open games involve lots of chances taken and chances given up, and that’s a situation manager Brendan Rodgers can live with, because he’s confident his squad will be better at converting them than the opposition.

The problems for Liverpool come when the team they’re playing isn’t interested in going toe-to-toe. Sitting back and not giving Liverpool space to fly has proved an incredibly effective strategy for slowing them down.

This is still such a glaringly obvious observation.

When we got our noses in front last season we were drawing our opponents out and they then played in to our hands. Yesterday we got in front yet Palace were clever enough to not panic and kept their shape. Warnock out smarted us.

It's all about space. We lack any sort of speed to our play and as such lack any space in the final third. Perhaps if we did then Coutinho and Sterling might start to find some form again. Both are suffocating at the moment.

Straight off, I'd ask that Mignolet started booting the ball over the half way line instead of the painfully slow way we try to build an attack from the back. It's not working and we're inviting pressure on our frail centre backs. Midfield are aware how often we nearly give the ball away and are playing deeper to accommodate for errors.

It's horrible to watch but we're not a lost cause

[Norbs]

Can the thread title be temporarily changed to 'The way we play' as style seems out of place at the moment

[RichC]

This is one of the big issues for me this season, the lack of goals.

14 in the PL with 3 of them being OGs is not good.

[Lecter]

We dont even create chances nevermind score goals

Look at yesterday, we had one shot on target and we scored from it

[ronanm]

we dont even create chances nevermind score goals

look at yesterday, we had one shot on target and we scored from it

#lethal

[RichC]

We dont even create chances nevermind score goals

Look at yesterday, we had one shot on target and we scored from it

In the final 3rd it's a real worry which is putting pressure on the defence and midfield which needs anything but that.

[baitman]

the lack of all round effort and communication is an embarrassment.

there is no pressing. wtf is the manager doing not keeping this going. we are again backing off any penetration allowing players right up to the edge of the box and we are then relying on skrtel or levren to come steaming out and rescue us. teams are now wise to this, and wait until the last minute and when one of the CBs come charging they just lay it off and we are suckered again!

too many players are running backwards rather than standing their ground and forcing the oppo player to either go wide or knock the ball on and run after it. this would then allow a team mate to clear up and we easily regain possession. unfortunately this just isnt happening.

no point in gerrard or anyone else trying to play long balls as we dont have the lads making the runs to get on the end of it as we did last season.

gerrard as a DM, holding midfielder or whatever you want to 'title' it is becoming the weight that is dragging us down. we all saw how lucas did against real madrid. it may have just been a one off, but then dropping him to accommodate gerrard is a slap in the face to any player who wants to try hard to get a place in the team. lucas must be first choice DM, he knows his limitations and will do blocking and maintain his position. if not lucas then can. not gerrard.

the centre backs look very fragile. a decent DM in front of them would help no end. they would not then need to charge out, they would be the second line of defence. no, change that, the midfield and attack should be doing more closing down further forward, this should be the first line of defence. the DM can then intercept the through balls and keep the space in front of the CBs tidy. then the CBs can play better as a pair, communication restored as they are never more than 10-15 yards apart. the full backs need to be doing the running to pick up any players out wide so the CBs are not then compromised as the last line.


WTF are our players and coaches doing through the week. lots of picture of everyone 'having a laugh' and balotelli messing about. too ****ing hilarious...
time to stand up and be counted. no passengers allowed.
either give your all or get the **** out of my club.

[john316]

Usually there is at least a semblance of a direction even for the ****test teams in the league. We seem to have absolutely no direction, pattern of play or team structure. Absolutely horrific to watch in all aspects currently. Even when we take the lead, you're not excited because you're waiting for the collapse and the equaliser for the opposition.

Its just so grim in recent times - its easily a match for the Hodgson era so far this season. The same utter depression and just that fear before every single game of an embarrassing result. The players can't seem to stem the tide, the manager can't stem the tide and the coaching can't seem to stem the tide